This must be my Holy Spirit theme—thinking about our similarities, what unites us, what we have in common—not our differences and what divides. Yesterday, I listened to a Focus on the Family broadcast that was geared toward husbands and wives, encouraging us to change our mindset. It was Philippians 4:8 in a nutshell—thinking about the things that are true, honorable, right, pure. lovely and admirable, things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Then this morning the verse of the day is Psalms 133:1, “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!” The boy doing the devotional talks about thinking about our similarities and what we have in common—salvation!— instead of what divides us.
This is a mindset I would do well to strive toward, in my home, in family relationships, at work, in the church. I don’t know how I got to be such a negative Nelly, but if I got there I can change to be a positive Polly. How we think is a choice. I can choose to look at the things in others I would like to change or I can look at their good qualities—as Paul put it so well.
This is something I will commit myself to doing going forward. I’m going to think the phrase Negative Nelly or Positive Polly whenever I sense my thoughts going in the wrong direction. I will remind myself of what Paul instructs us to do, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done,” (Phil. 4:6)—emphasis on thank Him for all He has done. I need to be more thankful. I need to not reminisce (mentally) about the bad, hurtful and negative, but turn my thoughts to the true, right, lovely and honorable. I need to remember the good things people have done and forget the hurtful.
I like how the NLT puts it, “Fix your thoughts on…” I don’t know—it just sounds more definitive than just, “Think about.” This is so much more than just a Pollyanna mindset—it’s not ignoring the bad and hurtful, sticking my head in the sand—it’s putting my focus on the uplifting, the encouraging. It’s determining to consciously remember what is right, honorable, true, pure, lovely and admirable. It’s more than just not being a Negative Nelly or simply being a Positive Polly—it’s more like becoming a considerate Carolyn.
