When one does something voluntarily and not under compulsion, why grumble? It is better to do no work than to do it with grumbling, for the very thing that we do is destroyed. Or do you not see that in our own homes we often say, “Better that this be not done than done with grumbling”? And many times we choose to be deprived of a service rather than put up with grumbling. For grumbling is terrible, yes, a terrible thing; it is akin to blasphemy…. The grumbler is ungrateful to God, and one who is ungrateful to God is a blasphemer. .
Do you see how he teaches them not to grumble, saying that murmuring belongs to slaves who know nothing and have no sense? For what son murmurs, tell me, when toiling in his father’s affairs, seeing that he toils also in his own? Homily on Philippians.
Do all things without murmurings and disputings. The devil, when he finds that he has no power to withdraw us from doing right, wishes to spoil our reward by other means. For he has taken occasion to insinuate pride or vainglory, or if none of these things, then murmuring, or, if not this, misgivings. Now then see how Paul sweeps away all these. He said on the subject of humility all that he did say, to overthrow pride; he spoke of vainglory, that is, not as in my presence only; he here speaks of murmuring and disputing. But why, I want to know, when in the case of the Corinthians he was engaged in uprooting this evil tendency, did he remind them of the Israelites, but here has said nothing of the sort, but simply charged them? Because in that case the mischief was already done, for which reason there was need of a more severe stroke and a sharper rebuke; but here he is giving admonitions to prevent its being done. Severe measures then were not called for in order to secure those that ...
