Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
Jude 1:14-16 NIV
Grumblers
According to polling by the Environics Institute, 70 per cent of Canadians are either very or somewhat satisfied with “the way democracy works in Canada.” Is that good? At the very least, it could certainly be worse. And Environics surveys show that the share of Canadians expressing satisfaction has held relatively steady over the last 15 years — it was 70 per cent in 2010, rose gradually to 79 per cent in 2017, fell to 65 per cent in 2023 and then rebounded back to 70 per cent last year.
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Every human has within us a basic sense of justice. Jude deals with this in Jude 1:14-16: “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: ‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’ These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” Jude describes people who grumble, complain, and follow their own desires. They talk big, flatter others, and live as though God exists to serve them rather than the other way around. If you’re honest, those words can feel uncomfortably close to home. It’s easy to point out at the world and miss the quiet grumbling that takes root in our own hearts. But grace speaks here too. God warns because He loves. He exposes falsehood so truth can heal. He confronts selfish living, so humility can restore us.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley