Jude 16These people are grumblers, complainers, going after their own desires, and their haughty mouth speaks, flattering others for their own advantage.
Many of the issues with these false teachers stemmed from their mouths. These people grumbled. Each of the descriptions in this verse is connected. Grumbling often results when we do not get our way. A cousin word to grumbling is pouting. Though this word is more often used for the way children act, adults have their own form of it, veiled as complaining. When people grumble, they are acting like children. We complain because something does not meet our expectations. When faced with a situation that tempts us to grumble, we can try to find God at work and ask for God’s peace to flood our hearts.
Grumbling can lead to faultfinding, which is pointing out people’s humanness, shortcomings, and even their mistakes, and using these as ammunition to blame or shame them. We all have faults and weaknesses. Sometimes these are obvious; other times, they are small and hidden. Some people just seem to find fault in any situation or with any person. Faultfinding can be debilitating and demoralizing, taking strength and happiness away from a situation. By finding fault in others, we elevate ourselves, at least in our own eyes. By putting others down, we think we will look better.
Grumbling and complaining have at their roots pride, which is described in the last half of the verse. Jude warns that these problem people were following their own desires. The word desires (epithymias) can be used in a positive or negative way in the New Testament, depending on the context. In this verse, it has a negative connotation, so most English translations insert “evil” or “sinful” to designate this, though these extra words are not found in the Greek. These people had a big ego problem and wanted things their way and considered themselves better than others, the opposite of what Jesus did (Philippians 2:1-11). Their selfishness showed up in their boasting. They tried to make themselves look good in the eyes of other people, with the goal of getting ahead and being upfront. They may have thought they looked spiritual, but Jude saw through their façade. The Christians who received this letter had to beware of people like this because they would destroy the church.
If we have any of the attributes in this verse, we must look honestly at our hearts, minds, and motives to see if they are not Christlike. Another result of sin in a person’s life is pride. This type of lifestyle has several results. One is that it is destructive to the one who follows this path. At first, perhaps a person may end up in the front, but people catch on quickly and can see the hypocrisy. This usually results in a loss of respect for the person who follows this path. Another outcome is that it always leaves victims. By elevating oneself, others will be put down, resulting in poor self-esteem, psychological problems, relationship issues, and a lot of other brokenness. If there are problems between two people, chances are good that one of them is following the path of these false teachers. The right path to take is one of humility and self-sacrifice.