My grandson Chapman is a seventh-grader at Christian Academy.  My wife texted him last week and asked how his first day of school had gone.  He texted back, “It was so great!! I got the best teachers, and I enjoy all the classes I got.”  I expected a middle school kid to whine about social distancing rules, teachers piling on the homework, or having to sit through boring classes.  But no…at the moment, Chapman is loving school and soaking up every experience.

I immediately thought, “Wow!  I wish we could freeze his attitude right there for the rest of his life.”  That would make a huge difference in how he relates to people, what he accomplishes, his sense of joy, and his Christian witness for as long as he lives.

A positive, upbeat spirit goes a long way towards living a Godly, productive life.  People gravitate toward someone who sees the upbeat side of life.  On the other hand, people avoid grumpy, negative naysayers.  We never hear someone say, “Let’s go over to Bill’s house.  I just love to hear him gripe!”  No, we instinctively want to be around people who are joyous and uplifting.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.”  There’s a lot of whining and complaining about our problems today, yet we do not hear many positive solutions.

Please don’t get me wrong.  I’m not suggesting we go through life looking at everything through rose-colored glasses.  We all know people who have such exaggerated Pollyanna spirits and are so sickeningly sweet they make everyone uncomfortable because they’re unrealistic.  God’s people shouldn’t be naïve or gullible.  We should have a wise spirit of discernment.  We’re told in Scripture to hate that which is evil, and if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault. (See Matthew 18:15.)  We are also told to “Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).

So we’re not to be blind to evil nor instructed never to say anything bad about anyone or anything.  Moses was critical of Pharaoh’s abuse of the Hebrew slaves and demanded their release.  John the Baptist was critical of King Herod for living in adultery with his brother’s wife.  Jesus was critical of the temple authorities for turning the house of God into a den of thieves and dramatically interrupted their greedy enterprise.  So Christians aren’t to put lipstick on a pig and smile and proclaim that it’s a beauty queen.  The Bible warns against proclaiming “…peace, peace when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).

But there’s another side of the coin.  Our daily, personal attitude toward life ought to be primarily one of optimism, joy, and goodwill.  The Apostle Paul wrote from a prison cell, “Do everything without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14).  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).  And, “…if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Imagine what a difference it would make if we all had my grandson’s present attitude toward our jobs, our marriages, our churches, and especially our country.  It will make a dramatic difference if we focus the majority of our attention on the 95% that is true, noble, right, pure lovely and admirable instead of the 5% that is nasty or dissatisfactory.  What if we began each day like Chapman saying, “I love my mate, I love my supervisor, I love my preacher, and I love my freedom”?  I’m confident we’d be a whole lot happier and much healthier…and a whole lot more fun to be around.

“…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18).

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