By Pastor Tommy Rush, First Baptist Church

Most people enjoy being around positive people more than those who are mostly negative. Personally, I’ve come to treasure friends and neighbors who focus on finding the good in situations. It can be a challenge to spend time with a person who stays constantly focused on everything that’s bad. We’ve all heard that it takes twice as many face muscles to frown as it does to smile. I confess that sometimes it’s easy to fall into the griping and complaining mode. I’m grateful for my wife, who has the gift of calling me out when that happens. She loves to say, “Build a bridge and get over it.” She also reminds me and my grandchildren that God wants us to “rise and shine” everyday, not “rise and whine.”

It can be difficult sometimes maintaining a positive attitude. It helps when we have positive people in our life to challenge and inspire us. A young boy came home from school one day and told his mother, “Mama, I think I failed my math test today.” His mother tried to encourage him to be more positive. She said, “Son, you’ve got to stop being so negative and think positively.” He replied. “Ok, I’m positive I failed my math test today.” Negative people are whipped before they ever start something because they only see the problems. People who are always negative usually look for something to be negative about. They see the difficulty in every opportunity and the dark cloud in every silver lining.

A positive person does not deny the reality of real problems. If you’re alive you know that no one is exempt from pain and problems in this world. The difference between the person who’s positive and the one who’s negative is in focus and choices. You can never see the sun rise by looking west. Make sure you are focused in the right direction. We can actually choose to see the bright side. We can choose to pursue what will bring successful results. We can choose solutions and options rather than focus on the problem. We can choose to speak a positive word, no matter how negative the circumstance.

A little girl walked into a church and saw a huge cross hanging on the wall. She told her Daddy that it was the biggest plus sign she had ever seen. Every christian knows that the cross is our best reminder to stay positive. Why? It’s where we all find grace and peace!

Goodness Gracious,

Pastor Tommy