Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Choose the bright side

The devil screams his lies so loudly. Critics spew their hate so easily. The negative,  the errors, the fails, the mistakes, they all stand out so blatantly.

We have to WORK to be positive, to speak and believe the truth. We have to bite back the negative retorts. We have to use love to cover the shortfalls.

I remember a teaching conference I went to decades ago.  The speaker said, "It takes ten positive comments to make up for just one negative comment." Just because of the numbers, we should choose positivity! The sheer volume of work required to makeup for being negative should deter us from choosing that option.

But Jami... sometimes people or things are WRONG! Sometimes a job is not done correctly.  Sometimes someone says or does something that I need to critique.  Take it from this perfectionist with OCD tendencies,  "I get you!" I truly do! But still I think there are better options.

1. Find something good instead of something bad. Did your child spill a glass of milk on the ground? Well at least the glass didn't break. Did the glass break too? At least no one got hurt. No matter WHAT you can find one thing to be grateful for. Even if it's,  "Well I'm not dead."  There is ALWAYS a silver lining if you look hard enough.

2. Say nothing at all. I'm sure your momma taught you, "If you don't have something nice to say,  say nothing at all." Just bite your tongue.  Let it go. Refuse to contribute negativity.

I realize these things are way easier said than done. But like anything, with practice,  choosing to be positive will come easier and easier to you.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8

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