Ready or not, it’s Monday again – the start of a new week. As you got out of bed today, what was your attitude? Were you fired up, eager to take on the challenges of the day, or did you have a “Murphy’s Law” mindset, convinced that if anything can go wrong, it will? Did you welcome the day with a declaration of “Good morning, Lord!” or with a mournful, “Good Lord, morning!”?
Over the years I have had friends who were strong proponents of so-called “positive thinking,” the school of thought that insists, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” I’m all in favor of having an optimistic outlook on life, but let’s be honest. There are things that even the most positive thinker could never do. For instance, even with the best attitude, the Chinese professional basketball player Yao Ming, at well over seven feet tall, would be a terrible jockey in a horse race. The driver of a Volkswagen “Bug” will never win a Grand Prix race on the Formula One circuit.
Some people simply are more naturally inclined toward formal leadership roles than others, just as some individuals are more mechanically gifted than others. Positive thinking can take us only so far – it has limitations.
But this does not mean I am opposed to positive thinking. In fact, as time has passed I realize I have become a more positive thinker. The basis of my positive thinking, however, is not in my own abilities and strength. Rather, the basis of my unquenchable optimism is a deep sense of assurance and confidence in the reality that God is guiding my life, that He has a purpose for me, and that He is determined to fulfill it, no matter what.
Whose day is it? Most mornings, even when facing the most stressful of schedules, I awaken to the happy reminder from the book of Psalms, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). If I believed that the course and shape of my day was my sole responsibility, I probably would not even get out of bed. But trust in a good, loving and merciful God gives me confidence not only to confront the day, but also to enjoy it. That is positive thinking.
Whose work is it? Some time ago I read the story of a woman who maintained an amazing perspective on her job. She had performed the same cleaning tasks for 40 years in the same office building. When a reporter asked how she handled the monotony of doing the same job day after day, she replied, “I don’t get bored. I use cleaning materials that God made. I clean objects that belong to people God made, and I make life more comfortable for them. My mop is the hand of God!” That, I believe, is truly positive thinking. “That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 3:13).
Whose truth is it? We live in a world that bombards us with negative thinking. Talk radio “experts” remind us about what is wrong with everything from foreign policy to our favorite sports teams. Newspapers and news broadcasts generally focus on the negative because they have learned, unfortunately, that “good news” does not sell. But we have a choice. We need not wallow in the cesspool of negativity. There is an abundance of beauty and good around us, if we only look for it. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). And, yes, that is positive thinking.
NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to review some other passages that relate to this topic, consider the following verses: Genesis 1:27-30; Ecclesiastes 2:17-25; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 16:1-13; Romans 12:2