Naomi or Mara follow up

Two Sundays ago in church we talked about the story of Naomi and Ruth from the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. What caught me in the story was how Naomi in the beginning was wanting everyone to call her Mara instead of Naomi. She was choosing to no longer be called Naomi, which means pleasant, but rather wanted to be called Mara, which means bitter.

Being pleasant or being bitter is an option that we have. We choice to focus on the good and the pleasant or to focus on the negative and be bitter. As followers of Jesus we need to focus on the good. We need to constantly look to where God is and what God is doing. As followers of Jesus we need to be pleasant people who inspire and encourage not people who conspire against and discourage others. Bitter people make life hard on everyone. Complainers don't do any good.

Complaining is just another way of taking the focus off of the good and trying to invite others to our pity party. Complaining is just inviting other to be bitter with us. It is not trying to build up and make better it is just a way to say, "on this issue I am choosing to be Mara, not Naomi. Are there any other who want to be Mara with me?" This doesn't mean that there won't be things that Christians disagree on or that we we all get our way all the time. It just means that we need to choice to be pleasant in those situations rather than bitter and complaining.

As followers of Jesus we need to close the complaint department. We need to not get sidetracked by others complaining. We need to guard ourselves against becoming complainers. Focus on the good.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

Love today.

In Christ's love and mine,

Doug