So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing the Lord?

Exodus 17:2 CSB

To complain is to test God.

God is not to be tested. It was a command that even Jesus held to when He was tempted while fasting in the wilderness. (Matthew 4)

When the Israelites were in the Wilderness of Sin, they complained and Moses saw that their complaints were testing God.

Complaining is the opposite of faith.

• We complain because we don’t trust God is sovereign.
• We complain because we don’t trust God is good.
• We complain because we don’t trust God is righteous or just.

We complain because we think we deserve better and that we would handle the situation better.

The only way we are to test God is to test Him in giving a tithe back to Him.

Malachi tells us that we can put God to the test by giving the first ten percent of everything He’s given to us back to Him. This is an act of gratitude and a response of faith.

To give back is gratitude. To give back the first ten percent is trust. It takes faith to give the first because you don’t see the rest.

Don’t complain.
Don’t test God.
Be grateful.
Be generous.

Gratitude and generosity keep us from complaining.