Tag: positivity

Rejoice instead of Complain (Philippians 2:14-18, 3:1-4a)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me…

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. (New International Version)

Here is a simple observation: Complaining and rejoicing cannot come out of the same mouth at the same time. The two of them mix about as well as toasters and bathtubs.

Everything is to be done without grumbling or arguing. Sheer willpower is insufficient for the task. Instead, you and I need to replace words of complaint with words of joy. Rejoicing is the antidote to murmuring. The world already has more than enough curmudgeons who crank on about everything from politics and religion to the weather and social media. Grumblers seem to always find the negative in just about everything.

Any fool can complain. It’s easy. Complaining takes little effort, and even less brains. Joy, however, takes some work. The sage person practices gratitude and joy so that it becomes the default response to most situations. We need a lot more folks with joy in this sad world.

Yesterday I visited a dear woman who was just diagnosed with cancer, and is expected to have only months to live. She had many tears, yet she also had lots of smiles. In fact, she was either crying or smiling most of the time. And her smile was genuine, not forced.

Whenever I encounter folks like this, who do not complain but rather rejoice, I ask them, “What gives you such joy in the midst of such sorrow?” This particular woman answered, “I have a simple faith. I trust God. I believe the Lord is good. I am blessed with many friends, a supportive family, and a God who loves me.” May her tribe increase.

On this same day, I visited another woman. She also had just been diagnosed with cancer and was facing a shortened lifespan. She yelled at the doctor and argued with the nurse, screamed at and quarreled with her family, and cried without any joy in my presence. Eventually, she left the hospital against medical advice because all she did was complain about everything and everyone.

Although I believe it is quite appropriate to have anger against disease, it’s inappropriate to rage against other people. The woman was miserable and had no smiles. I couldn’t help but see the incredible contrast between the two women in a single day of visits.

For all the talk we hear about how important it is to be positive, it is, unfortunately, negativity that sells, wins elections, and moves people. The irony of it all is that a large chunk of people continually grumbles, complains, and argues about all the negativity in the world. *Sigh*

Complaining and arguing are nasty practices; they breed disunity and division within groups and families. Murmuring only warps the ones who do it and infects others with spiritual disease.

Grumbling is always the first building block of a crooked and depraved generation. Conversely, being blameless and pure is winsomely attractive and unites folks together as a cohesive force for the world. Joy inoculates people from divisive pathogens. A people who rejoice together produce generations of individuals who impact their culture with delight and satisfaction.

Not even suffering and hard circumstances can curtail the comfort and cheer of the joyful. Rejoicing is a way of life – a path which no one and nothing can take away from us. Unwanted situations can be imposed on us, yet a person’s joy cannot be dislodged.

Eleanor Porter’s 1913 storybook character, Pollyanna, learned to take such a look upon life from her parents. Even after losing them to an accident and being orphaned, she honored their memory by saying, “… there is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it.” Pollyanna went on to teach an entire community about her way of life:

“What people need is encouragement. Their natural resisting powers should be strengthened, not weakened…. Instead of always harping on a person’s faults, tell them of their virtues. Try to pull them out of their rut of bad habits. Hold up to them their better self, the real self that can dare and do and win out! … The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town…. People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a person feels kindly and obliging, their neighbors will feel that way, too. But if a person scolds and scowls and criticizes—their neighbors will return scowl for scowl and add interest! … When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good—you will get that…”

Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, 1913

I wonder what our world would look like if we all took such an approach of finding joy in our lives. We are meant to guard ourselves from those who boast and brag, who belligerently bully others with their bellicose blustering and bellyaching.

We are designed by our Creator for better things. Joy is more than the spice of life; it is life itself. Moving mindfully and without rush through our days, setting aside times for contemplation and rest, offering gratitude to God and encouragement to others, and exploring our own heart’s desire are all ways we can tap into the large hidden reservoir of joy within each of us.

Complaining is cheap and easy. Joy is rich, full, satisfying, and takes practice to master. Rejoice in the Lord, take joy in the presence of the Spirit, and exult in Christ our Savior. In doing so, we shoo the devil away and create a better society.

God is good all the time. And all the time God is good.

O Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You mark out my journeys and my resting place and are acquainted with all my ways. Lord of creation, whose glory is around and within us: Open our eyes to your wonders so that we may serve you with reverence and know your peace and joy in our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Anxious (Genesis 32:3-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jacob praying for deliverance from his brother Esau, by Gustave Doré (1832-1883)

Jacob sent messengers on ahead to Esau, who lived in the land of Seir, also known as Edom. Jacob told them to say to Esau, “Master, I am your servant! I have lived with Laban all this time, and now I own cattle, donkeys, and sheep, as well as many slaves. Master, I am sending these messengers in the hope that you will be kind to me.”

When the messengers returned, they told Jacob, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is heading this way with 400 men.”

Jacob was so frightened that he divided his people, sheep, cattle, and camels into two groups. He thought, “If Esau attacks one group, perhaps the other can escape.”

Then Jacob prayed:

You, Lord, are the God who was worshiped by my grandfather Abraham and by my father Isaac. You told me to return home to my family, and you promised to be with me and make me successful. I don’t deserve all the good things you have done for me, your servant. When I first crossed the Jordan, I had only my walking stick, but now I have two large groups of people and animals. Please rescue me from my brother. I am afraid he will come and attack not only me, but my wives and children as well. But you have promised that I would be a success and that someday it will be as hard to count my descendants as it is to count the grains of sand along the seashore.

After Jacob had spent the night there, he chose some animals as gifts for Esau: 200 female goats and 20 males, 200 female sheep and 20 males, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 female donkeys and 10 males.

Jacob put servants in charge of each herd and told them, “Go ahead of me and keep a space between each herd.” Then he said to the servant in charge of the first herd, “When Esau meets you, he will ask whose servant you are. He will want to know where you are going and who owns those animals in front of you. So tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, who is coming this way. He is sending them as a gift to his master Esau.’ ”

Jacob also told the men in charge of the second and third herds and those who followed to say the same thing when they met Esau. And Jacob told them to be sure to say that he was right behind them. Jacob hoped the gifts would make Esau friendly, so Esau would be glad to see him when they met. Jacob’s men took the gifts on ahead of him, but he spent the night in camp. (Contemporary English Version)

Anxiety’s a booger. It arises as an unwanted guest within our psyche, putting pressure on our chest, and becoming a squatter in the pit of our gut. To be anxious is to have a vague sense of dread, anticipating some upcoming threat.

Jacob knew the feeling well. His mind raced with thoughts of what might happen and how to placate Esau when he encountered his brother. Jacob left home two decades earlier to escape Esau’s vengeance. Now their meeting up was imminent. Jacob was scared spitless.

What do you do when distress and dread wrap you in a straitjacket of anxiety?

Avoid avoidance

The only way to deal with fear is to face it. Avoiding it prevents us from moving forward. It makes us anxious.  One way of facing your fear and/or anxiety is to name it. When fear, anxiety, terror, apprehension, or distress arises, then name it. In naming our fears and anxieties, they become real and, thus, manageable. 

“Every time your fear is invited up, every time you recognize it and smile at it, your fear will lose some of its strength.”

Thict Nhat Hanh (1926-2022)

Another way to face fear is to “sit with it” for a short while. Give yourself permission to feel the anxiety for a set amount of time without judgment or trying to get over it. Pay attention to where you are carrying your anxiety in your body.

Focus on what’s within your control

We cannot control other people. There’s no way Jacob was going to control or manipulate his brother Esau. Many circumstances are outside our control. And yet, we always have the choice of self-control. Giving into addictions, or not facing problems are ways of giving up control of ourselves. Taking good care of ourselves, and focusing on good attitudes are ways of strengthening personal control.

The Serenity Prayer is a good reminder in those times when we feel out of control:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Promote a positive mindset

Positive attitudes help us widen our perspective on things – and with a broader view of things comes more awareness of choices. Making wise choices for ourselves now, builds resilience and fortifies us for difficult situations down the road – without succumbing to old unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Find purpose and meaning in life

Experiencing traumatic events might cause us to question whether our lives have meaning, or not. We may feel unnecessary or expendable, and see no meaning for the future. 

So, it’s important to discover or reconnect with the spirituality within you. Take the time and energy to read Scripture, walk through nature, or discuss matters of the spirit with others. Just as our physical spine helps to support us and is not optional, so we also have a spiritual spine that needs attention for which we cannot live without.

Get support

Other people, like trusted friends and family, can help us make a realistic assessment of the fear and anxiety we are experiencing. With the support of others, we become more confident that we can deal with issues. Finding a church or some other religious gathering can be a fresh means of emotional support.

You are not alone. We are all in this life together. So, let’s rely upon one another and not believe that we just need to pull up ourselves out of impending trouble. There is a God (and God’s people) who are ready to help, if but we just ask.

O God, preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Philippians 2:14-18, 3:1-4 – Rejoicing versus Complaining

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So, you too should be glad and rejoice with me…. 

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence. (NIV) 

Here is a simple observation: Complaining and rejoicing cannot come out of the same mouth at the same time. The two of them mix about as well as toasters and bathtubs. Everything is to be done without grumbling or arguing. Sheer willpower is insufficient for the task. No, instead, you and I need to replace words of complaint with words of joy. Rejoicing is the antidote to murmuring. The world already has more than enough curmudgeons who crank on about everything from politics and religion to the weather and social media. Grumblers seem to always find the negative in just about everything. 

Any fool can complain. It is easy. Joy, however, takes some work. The sage person practices gratitude and joy so that it becomes the default response to most situations. We need more folks like this in the world. For all the talk we hear about how important it is to be positive, it is negativity that sells, wins elections, and moves people. The irony of it all is that a large chunk of people continually grumbles, complains, and argues about all the negativity in the world. *Sigh* 

Complaining and arguing are nasty practices because they breed disunity and division within groups and families. Murmuring only warps the ones who do it and infects others with spiritual disease. Grumbling is always the first building block of a crooked and depraved generation. Conversely, being blameless and pure is winsomely attractive and unites folks together as a cohesive force for the world. Joy inoculates people from divisive pathogens. A people who rejoice together produce generations of individuals who impact their culture with delight and satisfaction. 

Not even suffering and hard circumstances can curtail the comfort and cheer of the joyful. Rejoicing is a way of life – a path which no one and nothing can take away from us. Unwanted situations can be imposed on us, yet a person’s joy cannot be dislodged. Eleanor Porter’s 1913 storybook character, Pollyanna, learned to take such a look upon life from her parents. Even after losing them and being orphaned, she honored their memory by saying, “… there is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it.” Pollyanna went on to teach an entire community about her way of life: 

“What people need is encouragement. Their natural resisting powers should be strengthened, not weakened…. Instead of always harping on a person’s faults, tell them of their virtues. Try to pull them out of their rut of bad habits. Hold up to them their better self, the real self that can dare and do and win out! … The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town…. People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a person feels kindly and obliging, their neighbors will feel that way, too. But if a person scolds and scowls and criticizes—their neighbors will return scowl for scowl and add interest! … When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good—you will get that…” 

I wonder what our world would look like if we all took such an approach of finding joy in our lives. We are meant to guard ourselves from those who boast and brag, who belligerently bully others with their bellicose blustering and bellyaching.  

We are designed by our Creator for better things. Joy is more than the spice of life; it is life itself. Moving mindfully and without rush through our days, setting aside times for contemplation and rest, offering gratitude to God and encouragement to others, and exploring our own heart’s desire are all ways we can tap into the large hidden reservoir of joy within each of us. 

Complaining is cheap and easy. Joy is rich, full, satisfying, and takes practice to master. Rejoice in the Lord, take joy in the presence of the Spirit, and exult in Christ our Savior. In doing so, we shoo the devil away and create a better society. 

God is good all the time. And all the time God is good. 

O Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You mark out my journeys and my resting place and are acquainted with all my ways. Lord of creation, whose glory is around and within us: Open our eyes to your wonders so that we may serve you with reverence and know your peace and joy in our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Romans 16:17-20 – Remove the Negative Influence

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Snidely Whiplash, villain from the TV show Dudley Do-Right (1959-1964)

I urge you, brothers, and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (NIV)

The Apostle Paul’s original writing of these verses was packed with an exceptionally large punch.  Almost every word he used was in the strongest possible language. For example:

“Urge” has the force of “beg,” as in the blind man crying out and begging Jesus to heal him. (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43) 

“Watch out” has the meaning of marking someone as if to keep constant eyes on them.

“Divisions” are human created arbitrary lines, and acts of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:19-20) 

“Obstacles” comes from a word in which we get our English word “scandal,” which is caused by judging another person. (Romans 14:13) 

“Keep away” is not a passive avoidance, but literally means to fling yourself away from a danger, like Joseph running out of Potiphar’s house and away from his wife. (Genesis 39:11-12)

Paul was begging his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to identify people who contrive human divisions between others and create offensive scandals and get as far away from them as you can.

If this were a professional wrestling match, the Apostle Paul would be in a cage match against the Jewish Christian Bruiser who has been talking trash for months about the Gentile Christians. In the church at Rome, there were three primary groups of people: 

  1. Gentile Christians who had come to faith in Christ from their pagan backgrounds and were delighting in their newfound change of life.
  2. Jewish Christians who had come to faith in Christ and liked their old religious traditions yet were willing to change to accommodate new believers.
  3. Jewish Christians who had made professions of faith in Christ, and not only wanted to keep their centuries old traditions but were unwilling to change and sought to make Jews of the Gentiles, using every ounce of influence, power, manipulation, and negativity to do it.
Professional wrestling star Dick the Bruiser (career 1954-1986)

Paul, as a Jewish Christian himself, clearly understood what they wanted and what was at stake. Paul’s insistence throughout his letter to the Romans was to argue for the priority of the good news that sinners find forgiveness based in grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ, apart from circumcision, Sabbath observance, liturgical traditions, feast days, and ritual observances. Paul had no problem with the practices themselves; what he had an issue with is making them mandatory alongside the gospel. 

The Jewish Christian Bruisers felt justified in doing whatever they could to stand against a change in their traditions. They tried to negatively influence everyone they could. And if they could not get anywhere with Paul, they would go underground and be as subversive against him as they could. Yet, Paul remained consistent in all the churches about the reality of God’s grace in Christ.

Paul understood that negative people only create more negative people – which is why he said to Titus, after having talked to him about the priority of being justified by grace: 

After a first and second warning, have nothing more to do with a person who causes conflict, because you know that someone like this is twisted and sinful—so they condemn themselves. (Titus 3:10-11, CEB).

Whenever a passion for power and tradition prevails over a desire to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ, then we have an issue of character. Stirring up antagonism against biblically-oriented, Spirit-directed change is demonic – and the real test of it is a constant stream of negativism which is secretive, remains in the shadows, relies on gossip and slander for its fuel, and hates being in the light.

Jesus said to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves because there are wolves among the sheep (Matthew 10:16). You will know them by their fruit. We are called not to participate in negative influences!  Thus, individuals must be called-out for their chronic negative spirits. So, how do we do it?  How do we shut-out the negativity?

Refuse it.

Name it. Call it what it is: fighting against the Holy Spirit and attributing evil to the work of God (Matthew 12:30-32). When someone comes to you and wants to dish up a little sumthin’-sumthin’ on someone or something, refuse to take the bait. Reject the deprecation like the big man in the middle of the defense in basketball, rejecting the shot, with announcer Marv Albert shouting, “Ree-jected!”

Keeping a group of friends who are positive, encouraging, helpful, and steering clear of antagonistic attitudes is extremely beneficial to both physical and spiritual health.  In a recent study at Stanford University, a pair of researchers reviewed over 200 studies on group therapy and concluded that group members “develop close bonds with the other members and are deeply influenced by their positive acceptance and feedback.”  In other words, negative thinking keeps people in bondage, whereas the positive encouragement of others brings freedom and life.

Rebuke it.

Someone might be speaking to you, start talking around some issue slowly, but eventually comes around to carving up another person like a Thanksgiving turkey. What do you do?  Rebuke it. We can say something like, “When you continue to speak with such negativity about ______ I feel upset because I need to be in a place which helps me to spiritually grow. Will you please stop being so negative?”

I once had a person come to me not knowing how to deal with a negative person. I walked him through some biblical ways about confronting the negativity when it comes. He simply hung his head and said he could not do that. He was miserable, which is why he came and talked to me. And he walked away with that same misery because he was not willing to call out a person on their destructive negativity.

You and I are in control of our own happiness. If another person causes us anger; if some politician drives us nuts; if a television program or radio show is upsetting me; then, it is our responsibility to keep away. If we have a chronic negative person in our life, and have tried to deal with that person, and they refuse to listen, we can say something like this when they start their rant: “I don’t want to hear it. And if you keep bringing it up and being negative, I will walk out of the room.”  The principle here is that we control our own behavior, not somebody else’s.

Redirect it.

Satan is the author of negative antagonism. He talked trash about God in the garden to Adam and Eve. So, avoid getting caught up in trying to dialogue with a negative person. Redirect the negativity by calling the person to change their ways, because truth be told, the negativity is really rebellion against God. It is not uncivil to put the focus on the life-giving positive effects of God’s gospel of grace in Jesus Christ and insist on repentance.

If you are wondering, “I could never do that” then you likely have been telling yourself a lot of negative thoughts. God calls us to stamp-out the negativity before it can get started, even within our own brains. In some cases, we need to re-train our minds to focus on the positive, and not the negative.

It takes two to tango. Negativity cannot survive if there is no one to listen to it. We are to stop being negative and stop listening to negative people because it creates divisions and scandals. If there are people who chronically have negative speech and can never seem to say anything good about someone or something, Paul said to stay away from them. Have nothing to do with them. Do not participate in the divisive speech. Refuse it.  Rebuke it. Redirect it. God wants us righteous and robust, holy, and happy – not walking around like a grump who was baptized in pickle juice.

We can choose to fill our minds with the gospel of Jesus; pray positively about everything; and find the good in all things. We can continually choose to cultivate unity, purity, peace, and love. In doing so, we enjoy life together.

May it be so, to the glory of God.