Negative trap

I have been admonishing my wife lately about negativity. Too often she is making negative remarks about one thing or the other and it serves no useful purpose. I believe that the negativity phenomenon is nothing more than a bad habit and that if it is left unchecked will undoubtedly get worse. I don’t want to drift into my golden years listening to her gripe and whine about everything in life being bad and having a “woe is me” attitude and in effect “raining on my parade” and bringing me down.

I told her that she is very lucky to have me around to remind her when she slips into the negativity habit. The look on her face tells me that she has not bought into this line of thinking. Perhaps she does not appreciate my efforts, but in all seriousness sometimes we do not realize that we are slipping into this trap. I occasionally fall into it, and I would wager that most of us have done so at one time or other. Being negative is all about attitude. It is a state of mind and nothing more. I fell into it this morning.


I once asked the most cheerful guy I have ever known, (bar none), how it is that he manages to be so doggone cheerful; it was downright depressing to me to always see him with that big warm smile on his face and I was jealous of him. This person went through the most painful treatment for colon cancer that one can imagine and his operation left him without a colon and all of the problems that condition wreaks upon a person, and in spite of all of the very painful chemo treatments, surgeries, and after-effects, his wonderful smile never left his face and his tremendous heart-warming attitude cheered the spirit of all that he encountered.

When I asked him the question, he just smiled and told me that his secret methodology for maintaining a wonderful attitude began every morning when he brushed his teeth. I exclaimed, “What?” He smiled even broader and told me that every morning as he prepared to brush his teeth, he looked into the mirror and told himself that this was going to be the best day of his life and he was so thankful for everything that God had given him. “That is it?” I asked. “Surely there is more to it than that.” “That is it”, he exclaimed.

This morning as I prepared to brush my teeth and I looked into the mirror, I thought to myself that I was really beginning to look old and tired. I began to think of all that I need to accomplish today and I actually scowled into the mirror. Hmmm Then I thought of my friend and my recent lectures to my wife about negativity. Could it be that I am falling into the negativity trap too? Wellyeah!

Christians should be cheerful and optimistic people. We cannot be as lights shining in a dark world if our thoughts are dark. Try my friend’s method or devise one of your own. Make a conscious effort to be positive about things rather than negative. Scold yourself if you catch yourself having negative thoughts or worse verbalizing them. What the world needs is more positive energy. Negativity comes from satan and if you think about his future, it is understandable that he is the way he is. You and I on the other hand, who are children of God, have a very bright future and should be smiling broadly just like my old friend. We have much for which to be thankful and we should focus on that and thereby defeat satan and all of his negativity.

Psalm 100:4…
Enter into His gates with
thanksgiving,
And into His courts with
praise.
Be thankful to Him and bless
His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all
generations.