You Are What You Think!

This last week I have been bombarded with negative minded people. I wondered what the Lord is trying to teach me? Was it about my own attitude or was it a much bigger problem? I think both. Sometimes I can be a negative person. I don't want to be but I bend that way. I call it the "realist" attitude v the "optimist" attitude. Never the less it's a big problem sometimes in my ministry as a pastor, a leader in the church. My attitude tends to rub off on people. But I have to tell you, the Lord and I constantly work on this. How about you? Do you bend toward being a negative person? The Lord can help you change. I'm not talking about sticking your head in the sand and ignoring reality and playing "Poly Anna," I'm talking about having a brighter attitude. I'm talking about having real joy that comes from the Lord and not circumstances.

As I go about my week greeting people the most often heard comments in return to my greeting of "How are you?" is "I'm tired." Of course you have to picture that statement with a slow, depressed drawl "I'm t-i-r-e-d . I hear it from both adults and teens but mostly from teens. Why is that? They're young, they're healthy and they should be full of enthusiasm for life. Has life beaten them down already? Or is it just a fad? I don't know but it's depressing to me and upsetting at the same time. Do they think they have no hope?

We have a young man in our congregation who is wheelchair bound and unable to speak or use his arms and hands yet I see a smile on his face all the time. Why the smile? Because he has made up his mind to be a positive person. He has become what he thinks. He is such an inspiration to me! and I would hope others with a negative mindset would take notice of his attitude.

I know some of you reading this are thinking "Pastor John, look around, what is there to be positive about? My job's on shaking ground. The economy is in the tank. Higher taxes loom in the future. I'm upside down on my home. I've lost 50% of the value of my retirement. Families are breaking apart at a record pace, to name just a few things, how can I be positive? Again, happiness and joy are two different things. Happiness comes from circumstances. True joy for the believer comes from our Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of circumstances. It just depends on what you want to think about.

Listen, if you set your mind on things of God instead of the things of the world you can't help but become a more positive person. His joy will overflow in your life if you allow it to. So you and I need to make a commitment together to become more positive in our thinking. And if you're tired...go take a nap!

In Christ Always,
Pastor John