I don't know about you, but I like to vent. When I'm angry, when I'm sad, when I'm frustrated, when I'm confused. Venting helps me gather my thoughts and put my life into perspective. But venting to people can send you down a dangerous road. Venting to people can easily lead you (and the people you're venting to) into sin. Gossip, slander, malice, frustration. Any of those sound familiar? They're all sins that seem pretty tangible when you head down the venting road.
So what do we do? The answer is simple: we vent to God. If we have a problem with someone, we don't take it up with other people around us (i.e. friends or family). We take it up with God. God created that person we have a problem with, and He knows them and He loves them. When we have burdens or troubles, it can seem really easy to dump them at someone else's door step. But that's not what the Bible tells us to do in Psalm 55:22: "Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you."
When you have burdens, pent-up anger and troubles, don't take your complaint to your friends and family. As David encourages us in Psalm 142:2, "I pour out my complaint before him [that is, the Lord]; I tell my trouble before him." David pours it all out to the Lord, and we should too.
That doesn't mean it's right, though. We've got to be careful. Though venting to God is better for us and for others, unrighteous anger, malice, frustration, slander, and any other sins that we commit when venting need to be repented of.
But don't pour out your complaint to those around you. Pour it out to God.
So what do we do? The answer is simple: we vent to God. If we have a problem with someone, we don't take it up with other people around us (i.e. friends or family). We take it up with God. God created that person we have a problem with, and He knows them and He loves them. When we have burdens or troubles, it can seem really easy to dump them at someone else's door step. But that's not what the Bible tells us to do in Psalm 55:22: "Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you."
When you have burdens, pent-up anger and troubles, don't take your complaint to your friends and family. As David encourages us in Psalm 142:2, "I pour out my complaint before him [that is, the Lord]; I tell my trouble before him." David pours it all out to the Lord, and we should too.
That doesn't mean it's right, though. We've got to be careful. Though venting to God is better for us and for others, unrighteous anger, malice, frustration, slander, and any other sins that we commit when venting need to be repented of.
But don't pour out your complaint to those around you. Pour it out to God.