Back in June I shared a post, “Why I Wear a Mask”. It was well received, getting shared 56 times on Facebook and generating 36 comments. Most of the comments were very positive, but two were negative. Guess which two I kept playing over-and-over in my head? You guessed it! In spite of all the kind, positive responses I received, I couldn’t stop thinking about those two negative ones. This taught me 2 things. First, I’ve got a problem with pride and second, I need to change my focus.
This tendency to focus on the negative seems to be a natural part of our fallen human natures. You can see it every day on the news and hear it every time a politician opens his mouth. The problem is, this negative mindset holds us back from reaching our full potential.
Ryan Hall, Olympic athlete and American record holder in the half marathon, discovered this when he was training in college. One day he read some reviews about his running on the internet. The majority of the comments were positive, but a few were critical. Those few negative words really bugged him.
Working out later, Ryan couldn’t get those negative reviews out of his head. He decided to prove the naysayers wrong, using their comments to help motivate him to run harder. However, when he tried this Ryan soon discovered the truth of Proverb 23:7, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” The more he thought about those critical comments, the slower he ran. He’d get angry and tighten up and tight muscles don’t run as fast as loose ones.
What we focus our minds on is what we become. When I focus on problems at work I just end up making myself miserable, but if I look for something positive to think about, it changes my whole attitude.
The apostle Paul understood this. That’s why he wrote in Phillippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
This Sabbath and in the coming week, let’s purge the negative from our thoughts and focus on the wonderful positive things all around us. Let’s stop and smell the roses, lift our eyes to the hills, bask in the sunshine, and share a kind word or just a smile with a friend. Most of all let’s fix “our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:2).
There’s plenty of negativity in the world already. Let’s not add to it. Instead, let’s focus on the positive. Let’s focus on Jesus!