Philippians 2:14 - No complaints. Ever.

"All things be doing without murmurings and dialogues..."

-here we get our second straight imperative, the fifth of the letter.  paul had taken a nice detour to dwell briefly on Christ as both our perfect example of going low for the sake of the Gospel and for others-first others-better, and as our exalted Lord, but is now turning back to thoughts about how these philippian believers can be involved in exalting Christ and furthering the Gospel.  we were just told to embrace fear and trembling, and now we are to avoid grumbling and complaining.

-the command here is ‘be doing’, from the word poieo, which means to create or make or do.  the idea is that we are involved in creating or making deeds.  we not talking about a simple act but more of a process which involves words and actions and attitudes and thoughts which all color the deeds we produce.

-when paul says all things it is readily apparent that there are no exceptions to the rule, no extenuating circumstances under which this may be ignored or suspended.  one might ask which things is paul actually including in all things.  is it confined to the things he has just been prescribing (as in all ‘these’ things)?  is he thinking about the broader scope of the entire Christian life?  do we have here perhaps just a general tenor for how Christ followers are to conduct themselves?  most likely paul here is thinking about a ‘whatever we do’ kind of big picture (cf 1cor 10.31, col 3.17, 1th 5.18, mt 7.12, 1cor 9.23, 1cor 10.33, 1cor 13.7, 1cor 14.26, 1cor 14.40 - there are many passages that speak to how we should color all of our deeds).  or to put it another way, as much as or as often as or anytime you find yourself in a situation where you could potentially color your conduct with this grumbling or complaining, be sure to not do that.

-let’s consider the specifics.  the first thing he tells us to avoid in all things is grumbling, or murmuring.  the greek word is goggusmos (pronounced ‘gongoozmos’).  it is an onomatopoeia - the word sounds somewhat like what it is describing (think of ‘cuckoo’ or ‘sizzle’).  grumble or murmur or mutter are good english equivalents.  the NAS almost always translates it as grumble, which is exactly what the children of israel were well known for doing (cf ex 15.24, num 16.41, and many other places) and which comes quite naturally to all the fallen sons of adam.  the second thing we are to avoid is dialogismos, which gives us the english word, dialogue.  it has the basic idea of open conversation - discussions, deliberations, reasonings, arguments, etc, but can also include more internalized discussions which might manifest in the form of things like reflections, doubts, or opinions.  together these two words cover both direct and indirect forms of resistance and criticism against what God wants, whatever it may be.  this resistance could be blatant or perhaps subtle, and it may or may not be directed at a human agent, such as a husband or a parent or a boss or a pastor or some other leader, but ultimately our grumblings reflect a heart of unsurrender and disrespect towards God Himself and are against Him (ex 16.8, num 14.27). 

-clearly paul is addressing an area of pride, one where to the extent that a Christ-follower is engaged in grumbling or complaining they are in need of going low.  well, they certainly need to cease and desist, but they also need to follow the example of their Lord and empty themselves and let go of their perceived rights to have things the way they want, for things to go their way.  those who follow Christ need to trust that the Lord is in control and has their backs and will work through their circumstances as well as through any flawed leader, even when that person makes a mistake.  now if the situation turns dangerous with regards to personal safety, we need to take steps to remove ourselves from harm’s way.  we are also not to submit to any authority that would otherwise lead us to impede the forward progress of the Gospel.  but all other things being equal, it does not become a child of God to grumble and complain against God-ordained circumstances or against a God-appointed authority figure.  remember that everyone in authority has been put there for some reason by God Himself, and if they have some human or spiritual jurisdiction over us, then our posture is to be one of submission and respect (rom 13.1-2, 1cor 16.15, tit 2.9, tit 3.1, heb 13.17, 1pet 2.13-14, eph 5.22 - wives are specifically addressed on this at least 5 times in the NT).  ultimately, one who is struggling with issues of subjection ultimately is struggling with submitting themselves to God Himself (rom 8.7).

-suffice it to say that the default position of the world and the flesh and the devil is one of rebellion and unsurrender, hence the ease with which people and even God’s people are wont to complain and grumble.  it is a humility issue (cf 1pet 5.5).  

-simply put, grumbling and complaining and disrespect are unbecoming to a follower of Christ.  they are flat out sin, and they make God very angry.