My Lips Hurt Real Bad

Napoleon's chapped lips can help us think about how taking action can change our lives.

By Jeff Dunn and Adam Palmer

Napoleon just wants to go home early. He's had a rough day at school already, dealing with Don's mockery and Randy's outright bullying. He just had his head banged against a locker, and he wants out.
So he calls Kip and starts trying to talk Kip into getting him out of there. Kip is obviously very busy right that second with, and this is an educated guess, making the biggest plate of nachos ever. We all know Kip refuses to come pick him up, so Napoleon makes a desperate last-ditch attempt to get Kip to the school, presumably to talk him into taking him home.
He has chapped lips. And they hurt real bad.
Napoleon is grasping at straws, hoping his complaining will be enough to get Kip out there.
Kip is having none of it, though, and leaves Napoleon hanging out to dry, forcing him to finish his school day.

How do you think Napoleon feels about himself here? He's been openly mocked, bullied in front everybody and rejected by his own brother. We're guessing the self-esteem meter isn't really maxed out at the moment.
Let's pretend we have a working time machine and that we can travel way back to about 1400 b.c. This was around the time the children of Israel had just escaped from their Egyptian enslavement. For 400 years, they'd been living under a severely oppressive regime in Egypt—forced into very difficult labor and seen as second-class citizens. Then, Moses came along as God's representative and miraculously led them out of Egypt and into the wilderness, where they were on their way to the Promised Land.
And then they started complaining. Complain, complain, complain. "We have no food." God provided food. "This food is boring; we want meat." God provided meat. Wah, wah, wah. On and on.
But my lips hurt real bad.
The Israelites spent much of their time in the wilderness grumbling and complaining, and God would have none of it. Because of their bad attitudes and lack of trust, he kept them in the wilderness for 40 years before leading their descendants into the Promised Land.
Turns out it was the best thing God could have done for them. Because when it came time for them to go into the Promised Land, they discovered it was already populated, so they were forced to fight for it. By spending 40 years in the wilderness, they had a desire for the land that helped them put aside their pettiness and get to the business of taking their land. They wouldn't have any room for complaining about this and that—they needed to band together and fight. Plus, they'd just spent that whole time learning to trust God to provide food and water for them, so God-trust was now second nature to them; good thing, because they would need it.
Kip wouldn't listen to Napoleon's complaining. Unlike God, Kip couldn't see the whole picture and had no idea what his refusal would do to Napoleon.
Turns out it was the best thing Kip could have done for him.
Napoleon hangs up the phone and immediately stumbles on Principal Svadean trying to direct Pedro to his locker. Napoleon strikes up a conversation, shows Pedro where his locker is located and soon finds himself at Pedro's house taking the Sledgehammer on some sweet jumps.
Imagine the self-esteem boost Napoleon got when he extended a hand of friendship to Pedro and saw that hand welcomed. Imagine the faith boost the Israelites got when they finally entered their land and started winning battles.
Action, not complaint, is what changed their lives.
So maybe this reminder from the Israelites can help the next time you face a frustrating situation. It's tempting to complain, and there's nothing wrong with a little venting. But those complaints will do nothing to change the situation; action will. Ask God what action you should take, if any, and then trust that he—not your tongue or bad attitude—will turn the situation around for you.