Our readings this week are Exodus 16.2–15 and Matt 20.1–16.

Both of these strike me as being plain and simple about grumbling.  In the Exodus reading we meet the Israelites in the wilderness moaning to Moses that they're hungry - God's brought them out of slavery sure, but at least when they were slaves they had bread...  In the gospel reading we hear the story of a man who, at the end of a hot and weary day working, is complaining about his wages - because he's not being paid what he thinks he's worth - or rather, he's being paid the same as someone whom he thinks is worth less...  

Maybe the moaning in both of these can be justified on some level - it's hard not to complain when you're hungry, and others are well fed; it's hard not to contest it when you feel as though you're being short-changed or undervalued.  It's not difficult for us to imagine ourselves siding with either of these 'injured' parties.

But these are also stories about generosity.   In the wilderness we encounter the extraordinary generosity of God in bringing a people of no particular note out of slavery into freedom: a God who has fought on their side, and accompanied them into the barren wastes, and a God, who, it turns out, is perfectly capable and willing (unsurprisingly really given the amazing things he's already done) to provide for them even here.  A God who, in fact, ends up giving this group of moaners more than they can eat.

In Jesus' parable we meet an image of God who is not stingy in paying a man what he's worth, but rather is lavish in giving others more than they are worth.  The man's issue isn't really that the boss is holding back, it's that giving away too much - it's just jealousy.

In neither story is it the case that those who felt the need to grumble actually had a need to grumble; in one, like the other, the provision was sufficient, and granted by an overly generous God.  At that point it all begins to look a whole lot less justifiable, and a whole lot more churlish.

Which is where, of course, the invitation comes to look at the attitudes we carry.  It's very easy to focus on what we don't have, or what someone else has that we wish we did - but both these stories show that doing so is not only fruitless, but also undermines what we know (and are open to experiencing) about the generosity and provision of God, and diminishes who we are.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching the prosperity gospel here - there are times when we are genuinely up against it, and there are plenty (too many) people in the world who can absolutely be justified in raising a cry that their lot is unjust, and unjustifiable - and I believe we should, in those cases, be joining our cries with theirs.

All I'm saying is that the next time we feel a grumble rising to our lips, it may be better for us, and those around us, to pause for a minute and take fresh stock; are we being churlish or jealous, and overlooking and undervaluing the blessings around us?  Are we just being impatient, and do we need to give God (or someone else) a little more time, and trust He's got this in hand?  Perhaps by stopping for just that moment we may find that we can turn that grumble into gratitude.