Dearly Beloved,
God's word from the Book of Numbers recalls the story of people being bitten by snakes in the desert. After departure from Egypt, the people started complaining to Moses about the "wretched food".
The consequence was punishment. Moses prays to God on behalf of the people and the Lord said to Moses: "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live." Moses made a bronze serpent, mount it on a pole and anyone who had been bitten, and looked at the bronze serpent lived.
One way to understand this passage is what the church calls TYPOLOGY. Typology is when events in the Old Testament prefigures or foreshadows an event in the New Testament. So, just as the bronze serpent was lifted up and brought healing to people, so the son of man must be lifted up on the cross. Christ is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
Christ said: "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize I am."
One of the reasons why the chosen people were being punished is because they were COMPLAINING. Even though God provided food (manna) but it wasn't to their liking. So they complained to Moses.
It's common for us to complain when certain things are not in our favor. Complaining is not the same as giving helpful feedbacks or critiques. Complaining is more like nagging or nitpicking. Sometimes people nag to me, and I usually just smile and try to shrug it off. But after awhile, I noticed that it can also get underneath my skin
It's a fine line to distinguish between what are helpful critiques and nagging. During the Lenten season, we abstain from certain things like meat or other personal things we offer up. But we can also learn to abstain from complaining (nitpicking and nagging) one another, because it is detrimental for the soul of others. Perhaps we can learn to keep some of our thoughts to ourselves, keep them in our hearts and offer it up to God.
One of the traits of the Blessed Mother is that she kept a lot of things in her heart. May she be an inspiration so that we too may learn to complain less and offer our dislikes to Almighty God for the salvation of souls.
What is the solution to the tendency of complaining? Gratitude is the solution. When we are tempted to nag or lodged a complaint, find a reason to give thanks to that person or group of people. If we haven't thanked someone today and found a reason to give thanks, chances are good that we will start complaining. Less complaining, more thanksgiving!
May God bless you!
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