Spurgeon once said that many church members are like a neighbor’s pigs “all grunt and no bacon” and sadly the description fits far too many: believers whose contribution to Christ’s Kingdom is little more than a sour complaint. One pastor even lamented that a certain member was such a roadblock that if he joined the devil’s church, hell itself would start to crumble. Instead of manifesting the fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance some Christians offer nothing but criticism and grumbling, though Scripture never lists grunting as a spiritual virtue. And if someone thinks the problem is their pastor, the answer is not more grumbling but more grace: show love, thoughtfulness, and help the shock might kill him, but the change will do you good.

Spurgeon once said that many church members are like a neighbor’s pigs “all grunt and no bacon” and sadly the description fits far too many: believers whose contribution to Christ’s Kingdom is little more than a sour complaint. One pastor even lamented that a certain member was such a roadblock that if he joined the devil’s church, hell itself would start to crumble. Instead of manifesting the fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance some Christians offer nothing but criticism and grumbling, though Scripture never lists grunting as a spiritual virtue. And if someone thinks the problem is their pastor, the answer is not more grumbling but more grace: show love, thoughtfulness, and help the shock might kill him, but the change will do you good.

A recent study has revealed a shameful truth about the American church: the average pastor earns just $10,348 a year well below the federal poverty line with 14% earning under $6,000 and only 5% receiving more than $15,000. Meanwhile, truck drivers, electricians, lawyers, and dentists earn many times more, showing plainly that church members demand much from their pastors while valuing them little. Scripture, however, commands the opposite: faithful ministers who labor in Word and doctrine are to be counted worthy of “double honor” that is, double pay (1 Tim. 5:17–18). In biblical language, honor means compensation, and what we pay reveals what we truly esteem. To underpay a godly pastor is to dishonor not only him but Christ Himself. If a man is unfit for ministry, he should leave for the church’s sake but if he is faithful, he should be honored accordingly. The question is unavoidable: does our treatment of Christ’s servants reveal honor or contempt?

At a recent meeting I witnessed something chilling: men who profess Christ calmly violated a verbal contract and effectively stole half a million dollars all while claiming they were seeking “divine guidance.” That phrase itself is often a warning sign, for God’s true guidance is not mystical, private, or conveniently suited to our desires; it is written plainly in His Word. When people bypass Scripture to justify what Scripture condemns, they are not communing with God but with their own sinful will and sometimes, as one wise layman observed, with the devil. Whether it is financial treachery or marital betrayal, the pattern is the same: invoke “guidance,” ignore the Commandments, and pretend that darkness is light. The Lord has already told us what He requires; the only real question is whether we will obey. When someone claims divine guidance, ask where in the Bible they found it because if it is not grounded in God’s Word, it is not from God.

A familiar complaint insists that spending money on church buildings is wasteful even sinful. But Scripture says the opposite: God rebukes those who live in paneled houses while His house lies in neglect (Hag. 1:2–9). The idea that God deserves less than we give ourselves is not piety it is sin. Yet this argument, born from Enlightenment unbelief and perfected by Marxists, always follows the same path: first the church does not need a building; then the farmer does not need his land; then the family does not need its home, its kitchen, its privacy. What begins as an attack on God’s house ends as an assault on your own. Meanwhile, states that preach “simplicity” for believers build monuments to themselves with confiscated wealth. The truth is simple: the God who gives us all things deserves our best, not our leftovers. And when men resent giving Him honor, the problem is not architecture it is their hearts.

Isaiah foretold a child whose birth would rearrange history: the Son given, the King whose government rests on His shoulder and whose peace will never stop increasing. Christmas celebrates that invasion the moment God entered the world in flesh, the moment the rightful Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords, took the field. The war is not yet finished, but the outcome is certain: Christ will bring all nations into joyful allegiance. That is why Christmas is a season of victory, of joy to the world, and why every Lord’s Day is, in truth, a weekly Christmas celebrating His coming, His resurrection triumph, and the advance of His Kingdom. God’s design is that all of life become holy, and all days reflect the reign of the Prince of Peace. So lift your head and rejoice: of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end.

An old saying tells us that if we talk, people will know we’re fools but if we keep silent, they may mistake us for wise. The truth is, most of us talk far too much, and our words reveal far too much about us: our vanity, our insecurity, our petty complaints, our gossip, our self-importance. Scripture reminds us that words are revelations. Christ Himself is called the Word, and Scripture is God’s Word written meaning language is sacred, weighty, and accountable. So what do your words reveal? A small, self-absorbed heart? A tongue quick to wound but thin-skinned when wounded? Our Lord warns that “every idle word” will come into judgment (Matt. 12:36), and two of the Ten Commandments deal directly with our speech. God takes words seriously and He will judge us by them. The question is: do we?

We’ve all learned the hard way that many people who ask for advice don’t actually want counsel they want confirmation. They’ve already chosen their path, and if it succeeds, they take the credit; if it collapses, they blame the “advisers” who never advised them in the first place. Scripture explains why this happens: fools “would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof” (Prov. 1:30). If people refuse to hear God, they certainly won’t hear us. That’s why good advice so often goes nowhere in our age men prefer their own will, and then resent God when their choices fail. Absalom’s downfall came this way: rejecting godly counsel, he embraced the advice that destroyed him. The lesson is simple and sobering: if you want the worst counsel, follow your own heart; if you want wisdom, listen to the Lord.