The Complaining Shopper

            A few years ago, a cartoon ran in the magazine NATIONS BUSINESS. The scene was a department store.

            The clerk at the complaint department received a woman shopper who told her, “I wish to file a complaint.”

            The clerk replied, “Madam, it may interest you to know that 19 of our clerks have turned in complaints about you!”

            No one likes to hear complainers. This is especially true in churches. That’s why Paul wrote to a church in turmoil, 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe… (Phil. 2:14-15 NIV.)

You Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog

            Do everything without complaining or arguing… (Phil. 2:14.)

            There's an Ozark story about a hound sitting in a country store and howling as hounds do. 

            A stranger walks in who says to the store-keeper, "What's the matter with the dog?"

            "He's sitting on a cocklebur."

            "Why doesn't he get off?"

            "He'd rather holler."

            Some people would rather holler than get off the cocklebur.

Firing Customers

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. The opposite attitude of gratitude is complaining. Lately, I have been leading a study in the book of Numbers for some of our church members. The subject of grumbling consumes most of chapters eleven through twenty-one. God, Himself, eliminates many of the Hebrews for this sin.

All of this reminds me of a blog written by Seth Godin a few months ago. He addresses those in business and marketing, but I think his words illuminate the book of Numbers:

Some consumers are short-sighted, greedy and selfish.

Extend yourself a little and they'll want a lot.

Offer a free drink in the restaurant one night and they're angry that it's not there the next.

The nuts in first class weren't warm!

The challenge of winning more than your fair share of the market is that the best available strategy--providing remarkable service and an honest human connection--will be abused by a few people you work with.

You have three choices: put up with the whiners, write off everyone, or, deliberately exclude the ungrateful curs.

Firing the customers you can't possibly please gives you the bandwidth and resources to coddle the ones that truly deserve your attention and repay you with referrals, applause and loyalty.

God is firing customers in Numbers.

As Christians, the least we can do, when we disagree, is get it out, get on with it, or get on down the road.

Honk! Honk!

When you lead, life can be difficult. Usually, there are people following behind who complain.

I heard about a woman who was in a car that had stalled at the intersection. Try as she might, she could not get the car started. Behind her was a man who insisted on honking his horn every few seconds.

Finally, the woman got out of her car, walk calmly back to the man’s car, she looked into the window and she said, “I’m having trouble getting my car started. Why don’t you go up there and see if you can fix it, and I’ll sit in your car and honk the horn at you?”

It’s a lot easier to honk the horn than to fix the car.

It is a lot easier to criticize leaders than to be one.

Don’t Honk if You Love Jesus

I heard about a woman, who was in a car that had stalled at the intersection. Try as she might, she could not get the car started. Behind her was a man, who insisted on honking his horn every few seconds.

Finally, the woman got out of her car, walked calmly back to the man's car, looked into the window, and said, "I'm having trouble getting my car started. Why don't you go up there and see if you can fix it, and I'll sit in your car and honk the horn at you?"

It's a lot easier to honk the horn than to fix the car.

It is a lot easier to criticize leaders than to be one.