“…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – If anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Positive people attract. Negative people repel. God wants us to be positive people but because of our sin natures we have a natural propensity toward being negative. Positive people are a joy to be around. I’ve known some really joyful, positive people who have been an inspiration in my life and a tremendous blessing to me and others. Even when they are going through a hard time or facing challenging circumstances they always seem to be able to see the “good”.
Positive people are like a teakettle…even though a teakettle is up to its neck in hot water it keeps on singing. Optimists are positive people. The fisherman who is an optimist goes fishing for Moby Dick in a rowboat and takes the tartar sauce.
Negative thinking has many different expressions…complaining… discouragement…defeat…a critical spirit…coldness…indifference…ingratitude. All of these are really just different forms of negative thinking. When all we can see is the negative, we become blinded to so many beautiful things around us.
Do people think of yourself as a positive person or a negative one? When faced with a challenge do you respond, “By the grace of God I can”? Or, “Oh, I just don’t think I can do that.” Now, I recognize that I’m being kind of negative about negative people so let me say something positive about negative thinking. The wonderful thing about a negative attitude is we are not born with it. It’s learned behavior, therefore it can be unlearned.
The Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Remind yourself of that often and you’ll be a positive, attractive person. There are three kinds of people in the world. The “won’ts”, the “can’ts”, and the “wills”. The 1st group opposes everything. The 2nd group fails in everything. The 3rd group accomplishes everything. In which group are you?