Philippians: Be Lights of the World, not Grumblers and Disputers

Philippians 2:14-18 - Are you a whiner, martyr, cynic, perfectionist or crusader? Then pay heed to what I write about today!

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“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

In my electronic Bible resource I have verses 14 and 15 of Philippians 2 highlighted from a previous time that I did a “Bible in One Year” plan. Yup, I highlighted words that said “do all things without grumbling or disputing”. Hmm, I wonder what I was thinking (we’ll have to dig into that). I had Steve do an AI of a few of our Philippians having a bit of a dispute with some silent grumbling going on as well.

Let’s do a word study!

Grumbling comes from the Greek noun γογγυσμός or gongysmós (Strong’s G1112), with the following Biblical usages:

1. a murmur, murmuring, muttering

   1. a secret debate

   2. a secret displeasure not openly avowed

Disputing comes from the Greek noun διαλογισμός or dialogismós (Strong’s G1261), with the following Biblical usages:

1. the thinking of a man deliberating with himself

   1. a thought, inward reasoning

   2. purpose, design

2. a deliberating, questioning about what is true

   1. hesitation, doubting

   2. disputing, arguing

Whenever I hear the term “grumbling” I always think of the people of Israel on their 40-year exodus from Egypt to the promised land. The Israelis complained about the lack of food and God miraculously provided manna and quail. Then they complained about the manna and quail. They spent endless hours openly kvetching and griping and disputing, to God’s displeasure (and His patience is long enduring). This commentary from George Brooks (Logos Preaching Commentary) quoted in Precept Austin is quite good:

Grumbling and disputing are sins of the disposition. These sins grow out of discontentment. We grumble and dispute when things are not working out as we planned them. If we grumble and dispute often enough, these two things will become habits.

Paul did not want the Philippians to live like the children of Israel. The children of Israel were filled with grumbling and disputing with almost every move they made. Before they could get out of Egyptian bondage [for] good, they were grumbling at the Red Sea. They asked Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt" (Exodus 14:11, NASB)?

There was a time when Israel became thirsty at Marah (Exodus 15:23-25). This place meant bitter. When Israel grumbled about not having water, Moses took a tree and threw it into the water and it became sweet. The children of Israel grumbled in the wilderness of Sin when they became hungry (Exodus 16:1-3).

God got fed up with their attitudes and said, "I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ’At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God’" (Exodus 16:12, NASB).

There was another occasion when Israel became thirsty and they began to argue with Moses. God told Moses to strike a rock so that Israel could get water. Moses did what God said and God gave them water to drink. That place was named Massah and Meribah because of the quarreling of the children of Israel (Exodus 17:1-7).

The children of Israel grumbled about Moses being gone too long when he met God on Mt. Sinai. So they got Aaron to lead in the building of the golden calf (Exodus 32). They grumbled about the manna given them by God. They said their appetites were gone because there was not a lot of variety in their diet (Numbers 11:4-6). They grumbled so much that God eventually sent serpents to chastise them for their grumbling (Numbers 21:6).

It appears that grumbling and disputing had begun to appear in Philippi and Paul was trying to keep it from becoming an epidemic. Grumbling and disputing were outward signs of inward rebellion. They [these dispositions] are rebellion against God’s right to rule.

Paul is admonishing the saints at Philippi to do ALL things without this grumbling and disputing. He is recalling the lessons from the OT and is concerned that even a little bit of grumbling and disputing would spiral into an open rebellion against God.

From the word studies, grumbling is often a silent or secret displeasure at something, while disputing is an action openly questioning those things that are true or just arguing for the sake of argument. I challenge readers to spend just one minute scrolling through social media, especially the comments sections on anything, and report that you did not see any grumbling or disputing going on. These sinful dispositions are the ugly foundation of our culture these days and it is indeed a crooked and perverse generation! Media that started as ways to inform neighbors about useful things and contractors, like NextDoor, have become bastions of petty complaints and disputes about every topic under the sun, especially minor political nonsense.

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Well, I have certainly done more than my fair share of grumbling and disputing in my life! Once you start down this path, it is hard to veer back and see the good in something. People experience one thing in their lives that is less than perfect and they are ready to throw the entire process into the trash can. We have seen this on some of our cruises from disgruntled passengers who overlook the 100 things that were completely awesome and focus on the one little thing that was bad and then they proceed to tell everyone else about it (I’ve also been guilty of this behavior). Paul wants us to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach so that we are lights in the world. Here is what Enduring Word says about this passage:

Do all things without complaining and disputing: There is a good deal of dispute among commentators as to if this complaining and disputing refers to problems among the Philippians (such as mentioned in Philippians 2:1-4) or if this refers to their attitude towards God. Perhaps they resented God because of their present conflict (Philippians 1:27-30).

• Because Paul specifically used terms that were used to describe Israel’s complaining towards God during the Exodus, it is probably best to see the complaining and disputing as including their attitude towards God. [Charles] Spurgeon gives three examples of things we must not murmur against:

  • The Providence of God.

  • One another.

  • The ungodly world.

• In this command, the emphasis falls on the words all things, which is actually the first word of the verse in the ancient Greek text.

• “Dispute not with God; let him do what seemeth him good. Dispute not with your fellow Christians, raise not railing accusations against them. When Calvin was told that Luther had spoken ill of him, he said, ‘Let Luther call me devil if he please, I will never say of him but that he is a most dear and valiant servant of the Lord.’ Raise not intricate and knotty points by way of controversy.” (Charles Spurgeon)

That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault: Through the display of a non-complaining spirit, we show ourselves to be true followers of God.

• Harmless can have the thought of “pure” or “unalloyed.” But the translation as harmless is also justified (it is the same word used in Matthew 10:16).

• “‘Be ye blameless and harmless,’ says the apostle. The Greek word might be translated ‘hornless,’ as if ye were to be creatures not only that do no harm, but could not do any; like sheep that not only will not devour, but cannot devour, for it were contrary to their nature; for they have no teeth with which to bite, no fangs with which to sting, no poison with which to slay.” (Charles Spurgeon)

In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation: This seems to refer back to Deuteronomy 32:5: They have corrupted themselves; they are not His children, because of their blemish: A perverse and crooked generation. Paul meant that modern Christians should not be like rebellious Israel, who were constantly complaining and disputing with God during the wilderness sojourn.

Among whom you shine as lights in the world: This is not an encouragement to do something; it is a simple statement of fact. Christians are lights in the world; the only question is, “How brightly do they shine?”

• “Not lights merely, but luminaries, heavenly bodies. But this can hardly be satisfactorily given in an English version.” (Henry Alford)

• We are to fulfill our place as lights in the world:

  • Lights are used to make things evident.

  • Lights are used to guide.

  • Lights are used as a warning.

  • Lights are used to bring cheer.

  • Lights are used to make things safe.

• Paul knew that the lights were in a bad place. Instead of excusing the lights for not shining, Paul knew that their position made it all the more important that they shine. Being in a dark place is a greater incentive to shine.

Well, the inestimable Mr. Spurgeon tells us that there are three things we must not murmur against:

• The Providence of God.

• One another.

• The ungodly world.

That pretty much covers everything in our lives!! It’s one thing to not murmur against the Providence of God and one another in our relationships, it’s quite another thing to not grumble about what is going on in this ungodly world! Think about this: Every time someone shares a meme on social media that disputes or complains about a celebrity, politician or something nefarious that is going in our perverse world that is also contrary to your values, the fact that you may like that meme is a form of participatory group grumbling!! This is hugely impactful to our lives as believers to not react or add to the grumbling.

Or let’s say that you stumble across an extremely provocative and nasty statement from a non-believer on a Christian site (I’ve never seen that before / sarcasm). I saw a particularly egregious one the other day, where an atheist called Jesus the “dead man on a stick”. As you might expect, many believers jumped on this in a large group dispute, which spiraled into the worst behaviors and name-calling. I actually stepped back and prayed for this individual. That’s one thing that should get much more attention in our intercessory prayers and that is a deeply felt prayer for our enemies and for the lost!!

Photo by Malachi Cowie on Unsplash

This commentary from Jack Arnold, quoted on Precept Austin is also quite good:

What is the worst sin a person can commit? Is it adultery, homosexuality, murder or rape? In light of the total holiness of God, it is difficult to say that any sin is any worse than any other sin. However, if we read the Old Testament carefully, we will find that the sin of complaining, grumbling and murmuring was a sin which brought great judgment from God. God hates a grumbling and complaining spirit because complaining is the opposite of a joyful spirit and God wants His people to be joyful. Complaining seems to be American way of life. Most conversations are complaints about the government, the economy, taxes we pay and even about weather. Among Christians, we hear complaints about the sermon – too long, too dry and too pointed. Or there are complaints about the congregation – too large, too cold, too small, too emotional or too impersonal. Complaining is not just an American pastime. It is a human race pastime because all men do have a sin nature which tends towards negative rather than the positive. Complaining is a spiritual problem and it has to be dealt with and spiritually defeated. (Sermon).

I liked this so much that I went to the link and the summary of the actual sermon from Jack Arnold. Here’s more to contemplate:

Notice Paul does not say, “Do some things without complaining” or “It is alright to complain if there is really something wrong.” No, he says, “Do everything without complaining.” We should respond to negative circumstances with a positive spirit. [my emphasis]. Paul is not saying we should never point up sin, or go to the proper sources when there is a grievance. But he does say we should not complain externally or internally about negative situations but seek to deal with them in a biblical manner.

….

Why is the sin of grumbling so despicable in God’s eyes? Why does He discipline His people so severely when it crops up? Grumbling denies the sovereignty of God. When we complain, we are ultimately complaining against a sovereign God -- His institutions, His laws, His providential dealings, His leaders. When the Israelites grumbled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, Moses said to them in Exodus 16:8, “You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.” NOTE: This is the exact truth Paul is trying to teach us in Philippians 2:13-14. It is a sovereign God who is working in us to will and to act according to his good purpose. It is God who directs or allows things to come into our lives to make us trust Him and grow up spiritually. Yet, if we are grumbling, we are challenging God’s sovereignty in our lives. If we really believe Romans 8:28, then we have nothing to grumble about because God is going to use circumstances to bring about His purposes for us.

…

Complaining is the opposite of joy. Joy, you remember, is the theme of the Book of Philippians. It is mentioned 16 times. Joyful living sees God as sovereign and in control of everything, making everything work out for His own good pleasure. Grumbling is to forget and deny the sovereignty of God, believing that everything is working against us and God is responsible for it.

….

Children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation. -- The Christian should give the world no cause to rebuke Christ or the Church of Jesus Christ. By nature, the world is morally warped and has a distorted viewpoint of life, for it has no desire to conform to the law of God. This is their natural bent to grumble and complain because they have no understanding that God is in control of this world. When Christians gripe and murmur, they are saying to the non-Christian world, “God really doesn’t exist or if He does He can’t control my circumstances.” Why would any non-Christian want to follow a God who is not in control of life? Yet, when the Christian is positive and joyful in the midst of crisis, the non-Christian sits up and takes notice and says, “Well, maybe there is something to this Christianity.”

…

In which you shine like stars in the universe, -- The world is crooked, depraved, perverted and at best it can only twist truth. Yet, Christians are lights in this world. As we shine as lights in the unsaved world, this is definite evidence that God is working out a great salvation in us. NOTE: God’s plan is that Christians are to make an impact on this world. If we say to the world, “Trust Christ for He can give you meaning, purpose and joy” and then gripe and complain, looking like we just ate sour grapes, we have lost our testimony before men. Many Christians look like and act like they have been eating dill pickles all week. The non-Christian looks on and says, “What a miserable bunch. Christians never have any fun. They are always griping about something. Their long, somber, harsh faces make me want to run as fast as I can from Christianity.” Negative Christians cause people to say, “Christianity is not for me!” NOTE: Paul seems to indicate that each and every true Christian does shine as a light in this lost world. If we are not shining for Christ, we ought to ask the hard question, “Am I really a Christian?”

…

Christian, we must face the fact that a complaining spirit is a bad testimony for Christ. Instead of grumbling, we should be thankful and joyful which will make an impact for Christ. Be honest, what is there in your life that would be attractive to an unsaved person? Do you project to the world that a sovereign God is in control? Can you imagine what kind of an impact the Apostle Paul would have had before the Praetorian Guard if while in that Roman jail, they would have heard him say, “This jail stinks! The food is awful! The conditions are atrocious! These chains are killing me! I wish these negative Christians would stop visiting me! I’m being slandered unjustly! I hate to pray because God doesn’t answer anyway!” This kind of complaining and griping would have turned off every Roman soldier guarding Paul and they would have said, “This guy is nothing but a sour-puss. Christianity is not for me!” But instead Paul projected joy, confidence and assurance that God was in control of all things and he found reasons to be thankful even though his circumstances were miserable. Paul did not just give external obedience to his circumstances. He gave internal obedience and was glad and joyful in his circumstances because He knew it was all somehow part of God’s plan for his life. Christians, what kind of impact do you have on this depraved world for Christ? Do the unsaved see you conquering in areas they know they are failing? Can they see Christ in you?

I feel like I have been slapped in the face after reading this. I am STILL a negative, nervous, worst-case awfulizer grumbler and disputer even though He has begun a work in me. On a scale of 1 to 100 I probably used to be in the 90s and am probably now in the 50s, where a 1 represents a person of faith who is joyful in all circumstances. Steve was less of a basket case when he came to faith so he probably traveled from somewhere in 30’s to now being in the 10’s on that scale. I have to share one more thing, because I believe this is so important. Here is a lengthy excerpt from a sermon outline summary by David Holwick (a Baptist minister) that was quoted on Precept Austin; he first talks about the five types of complainers that are found in the Bible (I know, some are surprising, but God uses imperfect people). He then gives some talking points about how to deal with this problem:

Five types of complainers.

A. Whiner. David

• These people wake up negative. They rise and whine.

  • David whines all through the Psalms.

  • The tell-tale sign of the whiner is: "It's not fair. I don't deserve this. Everybody else gets all the breaks."

• Life is not fair. God never said it would be.

  • It will be fair in Heaven.

  • In the meantime, whining only makes you and others more miserable.

  • Why not take positive action instead?

B. Martyr. Moses

• Passive aggression.

  • Caused by a need to have control with the least amount of vulnerability.

  • Favorite phrase: "No one appreciates me."

  • Example: Moses in Numbers 11:11-15.

• Rather than pity parties, state your grievances directly.

C. Cynic. Solomon

• Favorite phrase: "Nothing will ever change." Eccl 1:2-4

  • A sense of superiority.

  • Not satisfied till others agree.

  • But things CAN change. Jesus says so.

D. Perfectionist. Nagging wife in Proverbs.

• Nothing is ever right for this person.

  • It is never good enough.

  • Favorite phrase: "Is that the best you can do?"

• Complaints by a perfectionist wear you down.

• Proverbs 27:15 - "A nagging wife is like water going drip, drip, drip on a rainy day."

• Paul is not referring to perfection, but innocence and integrity.

  • We should get rid of obvious faults.

  • And note that the emphasis is on our morality, not the morality of those around us.

E. Crusader.

• They have a pet cause or belief.

  • Guerrilla warfare until they get their way.

• Crusaders express disagreement in unhealthy ways.

  • They seldom take the issue to those who can resolve it.

  • At worst, some want retribution more than resolution.

  • At best, they want everyone to respect them, even though they don't show much respect for others.

• They use the Gideon strategy: creating the appearance of greater numbers.

  • "I'm not the only one who feels this way."

  • When pressed, they refuse to talk specifics.

Deal with it.

A. God is patient (Ex 34:6-7), but his patience has limits. = For a while Louis Mucciolo flew regularly between New York and Denver, and there were frequent delays. One day as his plane was waiting for takeoff, an announcement warned of yet another lengthy wait. He noticed a flight attendant at the front of the cabin, and with time to kill, he approached her and launched into a litany of all his earlier mishaps on the route. She listened intently. "Sir," she finally asked, "what is your name?" With visions of upgrades or free flights dancing in his head, he pronounced his name clearly and spelled it. She nodded and repeated his name carefully. Then she said, "I must remember that and make sure I avoid any flight listing you as a passenger."

• Complaining can kill our relationship with God and people.

• We need to take an attitude check.

B. Admit it's a problem.

• Not just everyone else's, but yours too.

C. Accept responsibility for your own life.

• Complaining can be a way to shift blame for our own problems.

  • We are free to choose, but not free from consequences.

  • Nobody friendly to you? Be friendly to them.

• There are three kinds of people in life: accusers, excusers, and choosers.

  • Accusers are always going around saying "It's your fault." (Adam and Eve)

  • Excusers say "I'm a product of my environment. It's not really my fault."

  • The people that are really successful in life are neither accusers nor excusers. They are choosers. 1> They accept responsibility for their own decisions. 2> When they reap what they sow they take it and move ahead. (Rick Warren)

D. Look for God's hand in circumstances.

• Complaining is, in essence, rebellion against God.

• When I complain about my circumstances that are beyond my control I'm really saying, "If I were God things would be different."

  • Don't question God's wisdom.

  • Don't doubt God's care.

  • Don't forget God's goodness.

• The only way you change other people is by changing yourself.

  • Then they have to react to you differently.

E. Practice positivity. Phil 4:8

• Complaining is a habit.

  • Habits are only broken by replacement with something else.

• Take out the negative complaining and replace it with positive speaking.

  • Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

• Control your inner anger.

  • Arguing - do you have a combative spirit? 1> Be careful how you handle differences.

• Our approach can be Win-Lose or Win-Win. 1> Don't see others as opponents. 2> If you are truly peeved with them, confront them about it. 3> But view them as a brother/sister in Christ.

• Develop an attitude of gratitude. 1Th 5:18

This list is so good. Are you a whiner, a martyr, a cynic, a perfectionist or a crusader? Every one of those conditions lead directly to grumbling and disputing. Are you an accuser or an excuser? I would probably put a little bit of myself in every one of those categories. I can remember many times where I immediately complained that a group was “unfriendly”. I never took the steps myself to display kindness and friendliness, but just wanted them to cater to me. There are ways to deal with these conditions and choosing prayer is the first thing that should be on the list!

Paul wants to know that his work with the Philippians has not been in vain. If he is poured out as a drink offering (martyred for his faith) he stills wants to share his joy and rejoice in them and have them return that joy. Hence, he cautions them about entering into these sinful dispositions.

Whew!! I didn’t expect that long and winding Oregon Trail of things to ponder! My next devotional examines Philippians 2:19-24 - Paul hopes to send Timothy to the saints at Philippi.

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Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - I knew that I underlined this text a few years ago for a reason! Please help me to admit that I have a problem with these sinful dispositions, to accept responsibility for my life, to look for Your hand in ALL of my circumstances, and to learn to practice an attitude of positivity, which comes from the fruit of the Spirit. In Jesus name I pray this! Amen.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 07/14/2025 to review the lexicon for grumbling and disputing.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/14/2025 to review the commentary for Philippians 2:14-18.

Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.

Some minor formatting changes have been made to excerpts to improve readability.