Complaining - lent

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One of the things I’m thinking to give up this year for lent is complaining/being negative. But, when I get annoyed from certain friends or people I like to vent about it to a trusted friend. Is it complaining if I do that?
 
Cupcake143 said:
One of the things I’m thinking to give up this year for lent is complaining/being negative. But, when I get annoyed from certain friends or people I like to vent about it to a trusted friend. Is it complaining if I do that?
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Knowing your tendency towards scruples you should work on something more concrete so you aren’t in constant worry if you sinned or “messed up” your Lenten sacrifice.

Give up a non essential food, tv, video games, going to the movies, etc. That way you know if you are keeping on track or not.

Also, if you “mess up” your Lenten sacrifice it is not a sin. Just start again where you left off and try to give it up the remainder of lent.
 
“Venting” to a friend is generally a bad idea. We should not burden our friends with our negativity, we should try to be a Christian witness for them.
 
While venting is a bad habit as Paul from Iowa points out, talking to a trusted friend about a problem in order to get advice is a different thing altogether.

I agree with giving up something concrete, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t start learning not to vent at what is coincidentally Lent. Learning this is a process, and replacing venting with a good act is very helpful 🙂 Offer up instead of venting, and pray for those who exasperate you. And since you are just learning, don’t worry about messing up, just ask God and your guardian angel for help for the next time.
 
I am not sure what sort of complaining you do, but I think it would be an excellent idea to give up any complaining (or “venting”) which is self-centered. You will be better off for it.
  • “This really makes me mad.”
  • “How could she do this to me?”
  • “I find that offensive.”
  • “He has really made things difficult for me.”
  • “I feel left out.”
  • “I would never do such a thing.”
    • … (and so on—you get the picture)*
Lent is a good time to remember that it is not all about you. Instead, turn your attention and concern toward the other person. How does their bad behavior harm themselves? Is there anything you can do to help him/her to become a better person? Today’s Scripture readings are all about bringing God’s word and God’s love to others. How can you do that this Lent?
 
Complaining and getting angry is something I need to give up for Lent too, :obut in my case, I would say, why just for Lent? Giving up a bad attitude should go from now on permanently. But trying for Lent is definitely a good start. We can only try our hardest, and have the true intention of wanting to stick with our Lenten promises of sacrifice. Having the intention to begin with is what counts most.
 
Crown_of_Stars said:
Complaining and getting angry is something I need to give up for Lent too, :obut in my case, I would say, why just for Lent? Giving up a bad attitude should go from now on permanently. But trying for Lent is definitely a good start. We can only try our hardest, and have the true intention of wanting to stick with our Lenten promises of sacrifice. Having the intention to begin with is what counts most.
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Yes. Removal of sin from our lives is good anytime, and we should always strive to grow in holiness daily. However, I restress that with Cupcake’s tendency towards scruples, that a more concrete Lenten sacrifice would be best for her. Striving to remove these faults from her life is just an added bonus! 😉
 
Convert_in_99 said:
Yes. Removal of sin from our lives is good anytime, and we should always strive to grow in holiness daily. However, I restress that with Cupcake’s tendency towards scruples, that a more concrete Lenten sacrifice would be best for her. Striving to remove these faults from her life is just an added bonus! 😉
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You’re right, I don’t want to start becoming more scrupulous but i do understand that it wouldn’t be a sin if I did mess up. I saw someone post that they gave up getting angry, and I thought that was a good one for me because I can get mad fast. I do want to keep a practice though that I know I will commit through all the way, and im deciding to give up something small (chocolate - not too hard for me, don’t have any foods i ‘can’t live without’) and just adding more like rosary and stations of the cross daily, and volunteering once a week or donating once a week.
 
Actually I think I might still try giving up getting mad , even though I know I will mess up because I already did lol. But, I’m going to try and if I mess up I will start over and know it won’t be a sin.
 
Cupcake143 said:
i already am starting to think now that if I complain, vent, etc is that getting mad… I really don’t want to be scrupulous about everything thing I do and wonder if that’s getting mad so I actually will stick to my original Lenten practice and just add more good. Thank you all for your responses 🙂
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