Reading Classics Together - The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (X)

So, today we come to chapter 10 of The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. We’re on the homestretch now and it seems that Burroughs is concentrating quite a bit on the negative aspects of the topic. This week he offers a series of “Aggravations of the Sin of Murmuring.”

Summary

In this chapter Burroughs considers eleven aggravations brought about by murmuring.

I. To murmur when we enjoy an abundance of mercy; the greater and more abundant the mercy that we enjoy, the greater and the vile is the sin of murmuring. When God has given us great mercies, such as those extended to Israel when he delivered them from Egypt, murmuring is all the greater sin, such as when Israel complained against God’s provision for them. And, when we are honest, we’ll see that all of us have far more mercy than affliction to the extent that any murmuring is done in the face of great blessing and favor. What right have we to murmur in comparison to the abundance of mercies?

II. When we murmur for small things. It is sometimes easier to stand up under a heavy burden than a light one. “To be discontented when the affliction is small and little that increases very much the sin of murmuring.” Sinful human nature often leaves us forgetting about the greatest blessings and focusing instead on the very small aggravations that remain.

III. For men of gifts and abilities to whom God has given wisdom, to be discontented and murmur, is more than if others do it. Said otherwise, to whom much is given, much is required.

IV. The consideration of the freeness of all God’s mercies to us. “If what we have were earned then it would be something, but when we consider that all is from God, for us to murmur at his dispensations is very evil.” Here he suggests rightly that if we go to a restaurant and pay for a meal we would have much more cause to have high expectations than if we receive free room and board from a friend. And what have we that is not a gift from God? “Now when we are at the table of God (for all God’s administrations to us are his table) and are free from lusts, for us to be finding fault and to be discontented is a great aggravation of our sin.”

V. For men and women to murmur and be discontented and impatient, when they have the things for the want of which they were discontented before. Isn’t this the way it is with children? They cry for something and, when they are finally given it, they toss it away and cry for something else. How much greater the sin with adults?

VI. For those men and women to be discontented and murmur whom God has raised from mean and low estates and positions. “If God by his providence does raise you, you are still as greedy of more as you were before, and as much discontented as you were before. … If you have taken a poor beggar boy, who lay begging at your door, into your house, and set him at your own table, could you bear that he should complain that some dish is not well dressed, or the like?” So it is so often with us and God.

VII. For those to be discontented who have been very great sinners and ungodly in their former life. “Consider, we who are such great sinners, guilty of such notorious sins that it is a wonder that we are out of Hell at the present, yet for us to be discontented and murmur, how exceedingly this increases our sin.”

VIII. For men who are of little use in the world to be discontented. If we do little work for God, why would we expect or demand that he come to us in some greatly encouraging way?

IX. For us to be discontented at a time when God is about to humble us. In the midst of adversity we should be asking ourselves how God is about to use a situation to humble us. And if that is his purpose in this time, how can we murmur against him for it? “Now I am discontented and murmuring, because I am afflicted; but that is why you are afflicted, because God would humble you. The great design God has in afflicting you, is to break and humble your heart; and will you maintain a spirit quite opposite to the work of God?”

X. The more palpable and remarkable the hand of God appears to bring about an affliction, the greater is the sin of murmuring and discontent under an affliction. When God is performing a work of extraordinary providence, it is an especially grievous sin to grumble. “When I see the Lord working in some remarkable way about an affliction beyond what anyone could have thought of, shall I resist such a remarkable hand of God? Shall I stand out against God, when I see he expresses his will in such a remarkable manner beyond what is ordinary?”

XI. To be discontented though God has been exercising us for a long time under afflictions, yet to still remain discontented. If many aggravations are given us to draw us closer to Christ, we sin to remain unchanged under his chastening hand. Ongoing discontent is an ongoing sin.

I was always taught that, when writing, the first point is to be the strongest, the final point the second strongest, and then the remaining points go strongest to weakest beginning with number two. In this chapter I thought many of the strongest points were in the middle and were ones which did not receive a lot of attention. Still, there was something to gain in each of the eleven. Burroughs sets out to show how murmuring against God is a terrible sin. And he proves it well.

Next Week

Next week we’ll read chapter eleven (as you’d expect).

Your Turn

The purpose of this program is to read these classics together. So if there is something you’d like to share about what you read, please feel free to do so. You can leave a comment or a link to your blog and we’ll make this a collaborative effort.