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. 

Eliminating Negative Thinking - Philippians 4:4-9 - Part Two

Eliminating Negative Thinking – Philippians 4:4-9

Part Two

Most regrettably, I must confess negative thinking heretofore has been a perpetual way of life for me.  With Almighty God’s incredible and unending grace within the last few years, I have begun a substantial paradigm shift.  In accordance with Psalm 27:13, I wholeheartedly expect to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Whereas I do believe in an immeasurable and indefinable eternal reward for disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, I no longer expect to wait for the afterlife to receive it.  As the “Giver of every good and perfect gift,” He will impart graciously components of His rewards in this life.  Eliminating negative thinking is a primary step in preparation for receipt of these divine gifts and favor.

Interestingly, some psychologists and psychiatrists posit an unfair expectation of some segments of society that people from poor and oppressed backgrounds are equipped psychically to withstand greater emotional and existential burdens.  A former First Lady of the United States unfortunately remarked, when assessing the challenging conditions of Hurricane Katrina survivors who were living temporarily in the Superdome, they seemed happy as they are used to dealing with rough living.  Her harsh comments indicate that these people could afford experientially to wait for whatever assistance, government or otherwise, they would receive.  After all, they live a simple life with few frills.  Her assumptions allude to the negative thinking, with which many people live as they limit themselves to minimal enjoyments or interests.  Poor and oppressed are afraid to expect anything from life.  It is safer to settle for basic necessities in the cheapest forms as they will not disappoint.  Nevertheless, this outlook stipulates an unfair expectation for poor and oppressed people to accommodate themselves easily to the life’s hardships.

Although many people have surmounted poverty and political oppression, they still linger in the squalor of negative thinking.  Similar to residents of public housing, trailer parks and rural board houses, these people adjust to whatever adverse circumstances arise each day.  They surrender their hopes and dreams to life’s most formidable enemies, fear and negativity.

Writing to his most beloved church in Philippi, Paul offers effective techniques for eliminating negative thinking in this brief passage.  First, he instructs them to Rejoice in the Lord always.”  Music always comforts and empowers; “[it] soothes the savage beast.”  Regardless of any day’s trials and tribulations, the right music can help you overcome them.  Periods of praise and worship encourage us to see our Heavenly Father as awesome and amazing.  As we offer praise with thanksgiving, we realize He is much greater than any obstacles or adversary we face.  However, our praise of Him does not depend upon our circumstances.  It should be equal in good and bad times as He remains unquestionably faithful regardless of our situation or setting.  Hence, Paul directs the Philippian Christians to rejoice all the time whether on days of rain or sunshine.  In the Greek, the word, rejoice, means literally spinning ecstatically irrespective of your surroundings.  Paul reiterates his directive, “I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Second, at the time of Paul’s letter, the Church expected the imminent return and Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Some disciples forewent marriage and other earthly concerns as they relegated them to being essentially and eternally meaningless were the Lord to return within a few years.  As “the Lord is near,” the Philippians were to be gentle and caring with everyone with the objective of winning as many people as possible to the Lord.  They emphasis upon saving souls prevented them from entertaining life’s daily negativity as they looked forward to a joyous eternity.  Actually, it helps sometimes to assess the eternal worth of your problems.  Usually, they pale greatly in comparison with the rewards, rejoicing and righteousness of eternity.

Third, Paul simply and explicitly condemns anxiety and negativity.  “Do not be anxious about anything.”  Below, I offer a few practical techniques for eliminating negative thinking.  Yet, Paul states the fundamental and primary necessity of annihilating negative thinking.  Despite where you began life, you cannot progress toward your dreams and goals if you perpetually entertain and nurse doubt, skepticism and complaints.  That mentality questions God’s character as it indicts His past faithfulness.  Is He really able to assist me as I struggle with today’s major challenge?  Negative thinking disregards the biblical promise of divine provision of every need and our Heavenly Father’s sworn testimony through Jesus Christ that He will never leave or forsake us.  We are not helpless and powerless in any situation.  God does no abandon us like orphans left in a crowded public area without any clue.  As His love is unfailing and His faithfulness unquestionable, we have absolutely no need to be anxious about anything we experience.

“In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Prayer and meditation are the most effective means of eliminating negative thoughts.  A cardinal spiritual discipline, prayer allows us to speak frankly, honestly, freely and openly with our Heavenly Father about our feelings, desires, needs and problems.  We petition Him for wisdom, guidance, peace and resolution.  A victim of perpetual sexual molestation, incest and abuse, Celie, one of the main characters in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, talks with God about her predicament in a very raw manner.  A colleague once shared his need to swear openly and loudly toward the nighttime heavenly skies in order to ensure God heard him.  Hopefully, we can dispense with religious rituals and other formalities as we pray.  Legalisms about prayer such as the physical posture in which a person prays, the length of the prayer or the order of the wording and requests often detracts significantly from the empowerment and encouragement of this essential spiritual practice. 

Eliminating Negative Thinking - Philippians 4:4-9 - Part Three

Eliminating Negative Thinking – Philippians 4:4-9

Part Three

The other side of this divine conversation is meditation in which we listen to the Holy Spirit as He answers our inquiries and requests.  Our Heavenly Father desires to grant us His loving wisdom and guidance.  Regrettably, we fail to listen as we will not allow the Lord to impart His answer.  Has a relative or friend ever called you seeking your counsel? When this person finally pauses, you begin to share your perspective and offer feedback only to be interrupted rudely by an overly anxious person who talks a mile a minute and need to vent.  We respond to our Heavenly Father in a similar manner.  Fear, doubt and panic permeate our minds and hearts.  Accordingly, we do not allow Him to get a word in edgewise.  However, when we do, He lovingly and graciously surprises us with His infinite compassion and amazing counsel.  In many instances, we realize we are always in His protection and care; thus we need not fret or worry.  Meditation upon His perfect past provision and care equips us to look for its continuance despite the shifting sands of time.  He remains the same yesterday, today and forever.  In moments of silent meditation, we hear His caring voice and feel His loving presence. 

Incidentally, our petitions should be as specific as possible.  God rarely deals with generalities.  His perfect knowledge of our situation yields an equally ideal response.  Ask for exactly what you need!  Bottom line your request.  Have you had the experience of having to pull a request out of someone?  It is evident what they want and need.  They stall and hint hoping you will state their exact need as an indirect way of volunteering to meet it.  Whereas these tactics offend us because the people who make the requests should know us well enough to ask directly, they also offend the holy and loving character of our Heavenly Father who possesses perfect knowledge of our circumstances and loves us unfailingly.  Ask specifically.  Seek diligently.  Knock loudly.

Gratitude is the polar opposite of negativity.  Each remembrance of thanksgiving removes the temptation to fret over things we do not have.  Being thankful is the surest means of always seeing the proverbial glass as half full rather than half empty.  “Gratitude in the attitude” is a wise saying which recommends that we train our minds and hearts to look for something for which to be grateful in every occurrence.  Recently, a cancer survivor shared with our First and Third Tuesday Prayer Meeting that she was grateful for every difficult day on which she was sick and could eat or rest because it was another day in the land of the living and one closer to the healing she eventually received.  An attorney friend who underwent open heart by-pass surgery late last fall shares his gratitude of being spared a heart attack which would have damaged irretrievably his heart muscle and possibly ended his life.  Embedded in the endings of job loss, broken engagements, career ending injuries, divorce and even death are new unimaginable beginnings that emerge through the lenses of thanksgiving.  Simply stated, gratitude enables a person to accentuate the positive and resist the tendency to dwell upon negative factors.

Divine peace annihilates negative thoughts as head and heart agree to seek and implement God’s will.  In fact, God’s presence and His shalom prevents anxiety, fear and negativity from invading a disciple’s mind or heart.  The Greek words that Paul uses in this passage paint a vivid picture of a sentinel standing guard at all hours of the day and night.  No one enters the gates of the palace without identifying himself and being granted permission.   Should someone possibly evade the watchman and armed guard, the latter person shouts loudly, “Halt, who goes there?”  If the guard receives any threat of force or further resistance, he fires his weapon to neutralize and even annihilate this potential danger to himself and the people who he protects.  Afterwards, he arrests the assailant and arranges a proper adjudication of his violation.  The Holy Spirit performs a similar function for disciples as He imparts remembrances of our Heavenly Father’s unconditional and unfailing love and faithful provision.  These reflections equate with firing rounds ammunition to eliminate threats to our well-being.  He impedes the beginnings and development of negativity.  Further, the Holy Spirit reassures us of the Father’s gracious gift of divine power as He comforts us as we overcome these mental, emotional and spiritual tests.  In Latin, the word, comfort, is a combination of cum (with) and fortis (power or fortitude).  Practically, the Holy Spirit comes to us with spiritual dynamite and godly wisdom to assist us in resolving our daily dilemmas.

Additionally, Paul says God’s peace surpasses human understanding.  It does not lend itself to religious formulas and clichés.  Living is peace is not merely the absence of emotional turmoil.  Rather, it is the presence of security, stability and blessed assurance in both head and heart.  Completing a detailed pros and cons lists with a majority of favorable factors does not yield peace when making a paramount decision relating to love, work, health or finances.  Usually, determining whom to marry, which house to buy, whether to accept a job offer, when to move or any number of other main choices is a matter of attaining peace.  How do you know if you are making the right decision?  Certainly, examining the financial, relational, political, spiritual and personal implications for a reasonable and satisfactory answer is necessary.  Yet, a logical evaluation in and of itself will not grant divine peace.  Intellectually, all circumstances may appear fine yet you may still have a foreboding feeling.  Is this the right decision for me and my family?  You cannot experience God’s peace and personal angst simultaneously.  Pay attention to the internal questions and voice. 

Ask our Heavenly Father for His wisdom and guidance in which He will reveal previously undisclosed facts and hidden variables.  His mystical, magnificent and mysterious orchestration of our daily affairs resolves all challenges, provides every need and imparts His peace.  In my move from Nashville, TN to Cambria Heights, NY to accept my current pastorate, Almighty God perfectly coordinated every single detail.  Literally, everything my family and I needed for this move was given exactly when we needed.  In the two years since the move, by God’s grace we have “lived into the move” and proactively affirmed our decision.  Hence, we know with the Lord’s assurance that we made the right decision.  Our hearts and minds maintain symmetry of peace as we daily express gratitude for God’s peace as we moved one thousand and eight hundred miles to a new place for our children as they near adolescence and my mother-in-law as she faces the challenges of her autumn years.  Simple rationality would not have sufficed to yield the blessed quietness we feel.

Eliminating Negative Thinking - Philippians 4:4-9 - Part Four

Eliminating Negative Thinking – Philippians 4:4-9

Part Four

“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”  That adage advises hearers to keep busy in meaningful and worthwhile pursuit as sitting idly potentially leads to dangerous choices and even more despairing consequences.  Lazily watching television and playing video games creates mental vacuums for fear, doubt and negativity to fill.  Paul suggests ideas to the Philippians for their quiet times of reflection.  He exhorts them to think about truth, nobility, justice, purity, love, admiration, excellence and anything else that may be praiseworthy.  If disciples occupy their minds and hearts with these spiritual ideals, then they do not allow negativity an inch in their consciousness.

Paul concludes the passage with a final remark of assurance of God’s peaceful presence.  But, his last recommendation to the Philippian Christians is an instruction to apply “whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.”  The best means of determining the worth of any sermon is assessing its practical application in your life.  Most unfortunately, many churches follow the secular and humanistic trends of American popular culture with an emphasis of entertainment and feeling good.  These hedonistic impulses stipulate the value of a sermon or worship experience depends significantly upon their abilities to make listeners feel good or leave with a sense of enjoyment similar to departing a movie theatre or concert hall.  In great contrast, Paul warns the Philippians against such emotional responses which mimicked the licentiousness and permissive immorality of the Roman Empire during the first century.  Discipleship development, individually and congregationally, depends heavily upon willingness, discipline and commitment to apply Christian principles within daily living.

To that end, I offer five practical applications for eliminating negative thinking.  First, parallel to the image of the sentinel standing guard, learn to arrest negative thoughts as they begin to solidify.  Do not allow them to cross the threshold of your lips.  Immediately apprehend them and discard them.  Second, replace negative thoughts with positive reflections of God’s past faithfulness in your life.  Maturing as a person of faith means developing a more genuine reliance upon God’s unquestionable faithfulness toward you.  As He is the same yesterday, today and forevermore, He does not lose power to resolve your challenges.  As the burdens increase and the tests become more insurmountable, He gives more grace.  He will resolve today’s obstacles as assuredly as He empowered you to conquer yesterday’s trials.  In the words of the hymn writer, think of His goodness to you. 

Third, cultivate the character of perpetual thanksgiving in all matters.  Grateful people are rarely negative, fearful or skeptical.  They rely steadfastly upon God’s goodness.  Give thanks at all times.  Fourth, affirm the Word of God in times of testing.  Ask the Holy Spirit to share a few memory verses with you.  Meditate and affirm them by repeating them aloud as many times as necessary until they seep deeply within the crevices of your mind, closets of your heart and cellars of your psyche.  Fifth, ask for God’s peace.  In the familiar passage of John 14:1-6, the Lord Jesus Christ comforts the disciples regarding His impending betrayal, denial, desertion and death.  “Let not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me.”  As we rest in His peace, fear and negativity will never be able to afflict us.  Our heads and hearts will agree and praise His accordingly as we intellectually and emotionally affirm His Word.  More practically, we experience wellness, healing and wholeness as we eliminate negative thinking.