Are you a Grumbletonian? This word meaning grumbler, is in the Oxford English Dictionary. The word grumbling or murmuring comes 38 times in the Bible but happy words like praise and thanksgiving occur hundreds of times. There is no doubt that God wants us to look on the bright side. In the film Pollyanna, this little orphan girl whose father had been a vicar, gets a whole village, including some really grumpy people, to, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” [ Philippians 4:4 ] There’s an old hymn that says, “Count your blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Another version reads, “Count your blessings, name them score by score, and it will surprise you there are many, many more!”

Christianity has more songs of praise and thanksgiving than any other religion and many of them are based on a song book called Psalms which can be found almost exactly in the middle of the Bible. In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus he writes, “Do not be drunk with wine – but be filled with the spirit – singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.” [ Ephesians 5:18 ] Alcoholic spirit can only bring an artificial and superficial joy but God’s Holy Spirit puts a genuine song in all the hearts of those who have enjoyed the experience of forgiveness through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ. As a church poster said, “Jesus can heal the malady and put a melody in your heart!” When about 3000 Christians visited Butlin’s holiday camp at Filey every September, the late Billy Butlin used to say, “All through the season we have to make people happy, but when the Christians come they bring the happiness with them!”

Nobody likes a grumbler and in God’s eyes grumbling is a sin. [ Numbers 14:27 ]