Grumpy Cat
…I received a Grumpy Cat desk calendar. Grumpy Cat is a popular internet figure celebrated for her frowny face and angry eyes. She made her debut on the Internet in 2012. Sadly, she passed away in 2019. What made Grumpy Cat famous was her apparent grumpy attitude paired with the word “No.” Many find Grumpy Cat funny because she represents negative personalities in a humorous way. We all know people like Grumpy Cat, and maybe we have demonstrated such attitudes at one time or another. 
It may be humorous occasionally to be facetiously grumpy, but one certainly wouldn’t want to develop a lifestyle of such behavior. First, such a lifestyle is contrary to God’s word. The Christian’s life should be characterized by joy (Philippians 4:4) and brotherly love (Hebrews 13:1). Those two attitudes alone are enough to dispel grumpiness. Second, grumpiness tends to push other people out of one’s life. I suppose that one might find a fellow grump in the vein of the misery-loves-company tradition, but eventually, that will end, and the grump will find himself or herself alone. (It’s never good to build relationships upon common “enemies.”) Christians are not isolationists (Acts 2:42). Third, grumpiness isn’t wise. Proverbs 15:13 says, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” Eventually, one will become a victim of one’s own grumpiness and become depressed.
It is worth the effort to seek to be cheerful and not to indulge grumpiness. I suppose everyone has grumpy moments (that’s what coffee is for), but let’s not let those moments become a lifestyle. Rather, let’s seek to lift one another up with words of graciousness and a cheerful disposition (Romans 12:8).