Negativity Destroys The Fruit Of The Spirit

So, if I’m being honest, I have a problem with negativity.  It’s not something that just popped up overnight.  I have struggled with this for most of my life.  I seem to naturally gravitate toward seeing the flaws in situations, in others, and in myself.  And to continue on this negative path…I HATE IT!   Deep inside that little voice of the Holy Spirit tells me negativity is not God honoring, not productive, and most importantly not loving. 

I wish this blog post was me telling you that negativity is a battle I have already won.  A bridge I have already crossed over into the sunny and wonderful land of POSITIVITY!  But I can’t.  It is a war I am actively engaged in.  Some days I win the battle, some days I lose.  But the entirety of the war is very much ongoing.

Can you relate?

Surely someone out there can admit that in your worst negative moments you also want to push Miss Susie Sunshine out of a fifth floor window!  Okay maybe something less drastic?  How about someone says something hurtful to you and it overshadows everything good about that person and all you can dwell on is their undesirable qualities?  Worse yet, you share those negative criticisms with other people, which could poison their opinion of that person. Or maybe you are invited to a place where you won’t know many people and instead of being positive about the new opportunity all you can think to yourself is, no one will probably like me anyway, so you don’t go.  Or when you pray about a situation you don’t really believe that God will give you what you ask, He didn’t answer my prayers about healing aunt Patty, He didn’t give me that job promotion I prayed for last year, I didn’t get that ministry position in the church.

Do any of those thoughts seem like familiar patterns that run through your mind?

The problem is the internal issue of negativity always finds its way to the external.  It dominates every reaction you have whether verbal or non-verbal.  And when we take a look at other words that are cousins to “negative” we start seeing the real picture.  Undesirable, harmful, adverse, unenthusiastic, unconstructive, downbeat, discouraging, depressing…the list goes on and on.  I know unenthusiastic hit a special nerve with me, I could definitely describe myself in that way many days. 

Do any of those words sound in line with scripture? 

The scripture from Galatians regarding the fruit of the Spirit is a perfect example of negativity being at odds with spiritual matters.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:23-25

Or what about 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter?

Now I am not saying that we should just go through life not acknowledging that there are people that would do us harm, that we may have personal problems, and tragedies happen.  I believe God also wants us to be genuine and real.  People don’t relate well to others that seem to live their lives in little plastic bubbles, immune to the hardships in the world pretending everything is perfect, at least I don’t.  Those people fall into the same category of Miss Susie Sunshine whom I want to push out of that fifth story window…oh did I say that again? I hope you all know I wouldn’t really push anyone out of a window…how about a good eye roll instead?  I often meditate on what exactly Jesus meant when he told the disciples in Matthew 10:16, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”  Seems like to me reading God’s word there is a way to be real about life while also not being Negative Nancy twenty-four-hours-a-day.  As with many things I have found regarding scripture, there needs to be balance.  There can be more balance when we let God’s Spirit guide us more than our flesh.  How do we do that?  Not to sound like a broken record but prayer and reading the bible are two solid ways to continue to grow and know what the Spirit is telling us. 

So here is a thought or challenge to you, pick just one “fruit of the Spirit” from Galatians and work on it this week.  Focus on it, read scriptures about that spiritual gift, journal if you have to and see by next Monday if your attitude has been helped any.  I’ll do it with you, I have no idea what the results might be, I’ve never tried it before but I’ll write about it on Monday.  I think I will pick self-control, God help me!  I would love to hear from you on how it goes, post comments on the blog or if you want to just share with me privately, email me at smithbl144@gmail.com, none of what you tell me via email will be shared publicly. 

So in closing there are 3 things I wanted this blog to accomplish:

1. For those of you who never thought your negative slant on life  was a problem: Recognize it as a problem!

2. If you are negative know that: You are not alone!

3. Now that you know that you aren’t alone:  Do something about it!

I hope you all have a great week and remember:

NEGATIVITY DESTROYS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT