Eliminating Negative Thinking - Philippians 4:4-9

Eliminating Negative Thinking – Philippians 4:4-9

The town of Sleepy Hollow unexpectedly experiences its biggest and unimaginable commotion.  The antecedent of this ruckus actually is a daily and impromptu stroll between Mr. Lie and Mr. Truth.  Loud, boisterous, vociferous and loquacious, the former gentleman dresses impeccably with fine designer “knock offs” which he buys at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Filene’s Basement or various outlets.  Notwithstanding his challenging demeanor, many people who encounter Mr. Lie are seduced by his fashionable and striking outward appearance.  They confuse the volume with which he speaks with authority and certitude.  Coupled with his near original designer clothing, they succumb to the easy temptation of believing his every word.  In a very clear but subtle contrast, Mr. Truth wears authentic designer clothes but without any “bling,” accessories or ostentation.  Many people inadvertently and haphazardly ignore him despite the clarity and reliability of his character.  Nonetheless, these two gentlemen have a chance encounter one morning and end up walking together toward the town of Sleepy Hollow. 

As they travel along the road, they discuss their clear differences about any number of life’s pressing questions.  As the noon sun rises to the middle of the sky and this summer day’s temperatures rise accordingly, they near a large pond.  Mr. Lie suggests they stop and take a skinny dip to escape the heat and refresh themselves.  Mr. Truth complies with this seemingly harmless suggestion.  Once in the water, Mr. Lie silently and secretly begins to covet Mr. Truth’s clothes as Mr. Lie recognizes authenticity when he sees it.  Encouraging Mr. Truth to dip more deeply, Mr. Lie slides away while Mr. Truth is under water.  Mr. Lie steals Mr. Truth’s clothes and heads quickly toward Sleepy Hollow.  Within a quarter of an hour of Mr. Lie’s stealthy departure, Mr. Truth discovers he has been duped.  Furiously, he jumps out of the pond and dashes immediately to Sleepy Hollow.  Upon his arrival, Mr. Truth creates the hugest disturbance ever experienced by the residents of this quaint, rustic, austere and rural town of picturesque dawns, glacial social changes and reflective sunsets.  On this late afternoon as the townspeople gathered in the saloon on the far end of town, they heard this resounding disturbance.  Butt-naked and wailing like a banshee let out of hell, Mr. Truth came screeching, protesting and demanding his clothes back!  Bewildered and awestruck, the refined citizens of Sleepy Hollow stood motionless as they had never encountered the butt-naked truth before.

I hope the preceding story motivates you to accept a raw and naked truth which most people uncritically accept as they attend to their daily affairs.  Most people surrender to negative patterns of thinking without considering an alternative.  We expect negative circumstances to emerge.  We prepare for negative consequences to our choices.  We do not wish to be caught off guards and unawares if something adverse were to occur.  Let’s test my hypothesis about this very normal and human tendency.  Do you have a plan for prosperity?  If you won the lottery or inherited an unexpected sum of money, do you have a plan to maximize this good fortune?  How often are you afraid you will lose something or someone you greatly value?  Do you live with persistent anxiety about money, job security, relationships, health, or your future?  When you contemplate the future, do you expect success and excellence?  Instead, do you simply hope by some mysterious magic or stroke of good luck you will fulfill your dreams and achieve your goals?  Simply, are you better prepared to respond to failure than you are ready to maximize upon success?

At traffic lights, do dangerous scenarios of fatal accidents speed across the horizon of your mind?  Do you begin to sweat profusely when you check your daily mail or online bank accounts?  Do you apply for jobs and other opportunities with a foreboding feeling that you are wasting your time and effort?  Are you able to rebound from disappointments and failures with periods of paralysis and negativity?  Have you made debt a way of life feeling hopeless to live without charging and accumulating more unsecured debt?  Do you have difficulty in throwing things away even when you purchase new items to replace them?  If yes, how long have you been living in lack as you wear excessively mended clothes and cracked shoes?  Does fear invade your loving relationships?  Do you often dread the possibility that the people who are nearest and dearest to your heart will leave suddenly and shockingly?  Does the sum of these negative thoughts consume ninety percent or more of your mental energy? Probably, you are most prone to intractable negative thinking.

As a descendant of African Americans who grew up the century and a half following the end of chattel slavery in the South within a context of segregation and poverty, I marvel at the extreme limitations of this milieu.  Crippling the soul, poverty paralyzes imagination, destroys dreams, limits the world and impedes progress.  Its cumulative and constant affect is ingrained negative thinking which becomes a way of life.  Success in life depends significantly upon whether a person can win an internal struggle to overcome this prevalent mental, emotional and spiritual dilemma.  As a mature personally and grow spiritually in the afternoon of my life, I am dumbfounded by how extensively negative ideas influenced my life heretofore.  Like Charlie Brown who refuses to believe he will ever receive a fair chance to pitch in a baseball game, I had an extremely hard time believing life would grant me a well-deserved opportunity to achieve my potential.  However, I hasten to juxtapose this cultural and contextual negativity with an equally entrenched faith in Almighty God and myself.  At any moment, I fluctuate between these polar opposites.