Christian Living

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The atmosphere is full of negativity. In almost every direction we look, we are greeted with a breeze of complaints and pessimism. Conversations rally around exaggerated and embellished words that tend to carry us into worry, anxiety, and even fear. Negativity pulls us as a riptide from our comfort zones into areas of despair. Pessimism limits our ability to build productive lives. It takes insignificant incidences and makes them into significant obstacles. It interprets experiences through the lens of past failures. Our eyes and ears are the flood gates that allow negative thoughts to enter the mind, the command center of our life. Christians, of all people, should know and understand how negativity can limit spiritual growth….. YET, much of this fruit is being grown and digested by Believers! When we fill our minds with pessimism, we are actually turning our thoughts away from God and His Kingdom. The Apostle Paul had every carnal right to express frustration with the challenges in life, BUT he did not let the negatives set up residence in his mind.

One of the results of negativity is limiting the power of God within us. God tells us to take a leap of faith, but we question if we can do it. God will never ask us to do anything that will bring failure by our obedience. Negativity is an antidote to spiritual growth. Whenever we allow pessimism to wander through our minds, we limit the effectiveness of God’s Word.

In the Believer, there should be no room for negativity. When negative thoughts are introduced to our minds, through our flood gates, we need to post a sign that says, “No Vacancy,” or “Full up with the Word of God.” We need to be vigilant as to what we watch, read, and hear, for it is through these areas that negativity can become a “player” in our life. We need to be careful about the people with whom we associate. We are not to judge other people’s motives or actions, but neither are we to be a dumping station for expressions of frustrated worldly rhetoric.

One of the subcategories of negativity is GOSSIP. How many lives have been wounded, and even destroyed, by negative reporting of someone’s actions. We are called to be “up lifters,” not “down casters.” Gossip is basically passing on unsubstantiated rumors. The next time someone passes on some news from their fault finding investigation, why not say, “Let’s pray about that right now.” Let our prayer not be in response to innuendoes of someone’s actions, but that God would reveal Himself to that someone and help them to know how much God loves them.

The Church is facing difficult times all over the world. We are not to bury our heads in the sand and make believe all is well on planet earth, but neither are we to help promote these trying times. We have read the back of the Book and we know how this all will end! If we just can’t totally shake the negative from our thoughts and lips, then at least let us channel the little that is left toward Satan. Satan is a liar and a thief who came to destroy what God so graciously created, but Jesus took the Keys (authority) away from him, and it is only through God’s permission that he can do anything! Satan is a toothless lion!

From this day on, let us all reject the negative and accentuate the positive. JESUS IS LORD!

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