A few years ago I worked at a Christian school as secretary to the Principal. I got to see the best and worth of my colleagues. Here’s two that I remember best.

JESSICA
Jessica would storm into the office every day and immediately vent the list of terrible things that had happened to her. She was always complaining about something - a bad nights’ sleep, a student, the photocopier, other people, a pen that didn’t work. If she wasn’t feeling well, then she was doing a service to mankind just by getting out of bed and everyone needed to know about the favor she was doing them.

But Jessica had a husband and two kids who excelled in sport. She had a rewarding job and was promoted to take on a more empowering role in the school.

DANIELLE
Danielle was an 8th Grade teacher confined to a wheelchair. Our school was built on the side of a hill, and there was literally no way for her to get from the carpark to her classroom without two people picking up her wheelchair and carrying her down. She had to ask me for help every time she used the photocopier because she couldn’t read the screen. She couldn’t reach the blackboard. Her life was one long challenge.

But every day Danielle would roll into the office with a huge smile and a big hello. She would ask how we were doing and tell us a funny story or compliment someone’s new outfit. She talked about her bratty Grade 8 students like they were her own rascal children. She’d joke with the students when they carried her down the stairs.

I will never forget the day when we were talking at my desk. Danielle looked me right in the eyes and said she was awed by the fact that God had felt her strong enough to live her life with a humbling disability.

It’s so easy for us to let our emotions get out of control. If you are a person prone to negativity, it’s easy to feel like the world is against you whenever something happens that doesn’t go the way you’d like. There are two big problems with negativity:

1. What is in your mind is what comes out of your mouth

2. It is against God’s Word to be negative

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Matthew 12:33-34

If you are negative in your heart, then negative words will come out of your mouth. You will be a downer to people around you. Friends will fear telling you bad news. Trust me, it’s not a good way to be. Joyce Meyer says, “positive minds produce positive lives”. The opposite is true. If you get in your car and it doesn’t start, you can get angry at the world for ruining your day, but the reality is that you ruin your day with your own negativity.

“Finally, brothers, 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

God’s Word does not say “be angry about everything. Fly off the handle. Turn all that is good into bad.” He wants us to be at peace in our hearts and minds. That’s when He can truly start working in our lives.

Believe it or not, negativity is a choice. You make the choice with every situation that you face, no matter how insignificant (like not being able to find your favorite pair of shoes in the morning).

I’d need five articles to truly cover this topic, but for now let’s start with a challenge. Recognize if you are prone to negativity. Every day during your prayer time, ask God to begin showing you instances where you are being negative, and ask for release from it. He will help you, I guarantee it. Mind change is hard, but worth it.

Starting right now, look for the next situation where you have a positive or a negative choice. CHOOSE to look at the situation differently. Cool your temper. Remember that God has a plan, and it’s only when we are thinking with peace and positivity that He can use us.