In one of his recent Speed Bump cartoons, Dave Coverly has a grumpy looking elderly couple sitting in a booth at a restaurant, looking at the menu. The waitress asks them, “Would you like to start by complaining about an appetizer? Or are you ready to go ahead and complain about a meal?”

Not every senior citizen fits the stereotype of an old grouch who complains all the time. Some of them are the sweetest, most easy-going people you will ever meet. However, there are many who seem to thrive on finding things to grumble about. And some of them, sad to say, are Christians.

My wife and I used to go out to eat with some senior citizens after church on Sunday evening. It became embarrassing to listen to their complaining every single time we shared a meal together. It was a poor witness to the waitresses, who usually knew that we had just come from church.

As we grow older, let’s try to grow more thankful for what we have and more gracious toward others.

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”

That’s what the Bible says. If you want to complain about it, don’t talk to me. Talk to the One who wrote it.