They Call Him Eeyore

They Call Him Eeyore

In the Winnie-the-Pooh series, one character is known for his complaining. Eeyore the donkey is always blue. Do you know someone like this? No matter what encouragement you give the person, he or she will always find something to complain about and a reason to get sour. Maybe you frequently have your own Eeyore moments.

What causes this? Dr. Kevin Elko states, “Two culprits in our personality cause complaining: comparison and judgment.”

Comparison creates discontentment because you want what someone else possesses. You believe that you are entitled to something more, so when you see someone with more, it makes you jealous. Judging others is the other form of complaining. People who judge others walk in an “I’m better than you” attitude. So even when they are not asked, they insert themselves into the situation to offer you advice, stir things up, and create problems. These people are complainers not from what they lack but from the status they believe they have achieved by comparing themselves to others.

First Timothy 6:5-8 warns of those with such attitudes:

These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

Be careful of the complainers in your midst. Choose contentment, and steer clear of those who stir up trouble.

True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

1 Timothy 6:6-8