This weekend, I’m going to preach on
a topic which is rarely addressed from the pulpits of Christian churches. In fact, to be honest, this is the first time
that I, myself, have ever preached on this topic. Yet, my topic this week is a problem that undermines
perhaps more ministry programs in churches than any other issue. It also disempowers more individual Christian
disciples than perhaps any other cause.
I call this problem: negativity. But, there are other terms for the problem,
as well. For instance, within
psychotherapy, it is frequently labelled, “filtering.”
In his online article, Dr. John Grohol
lists “filtering” as the first of “15 Common Cognitive Disorders.” He describes filtering as occurring when…
“We take
the negative details and magnify them while filtering out all positive aspects
of a situation. For instance, a person may pick out a single, unpleasant detail
and dwell on it exclusively so that their vision of reality becomes darkened or
distorted.”[i]
We practice negativity all of the time in the
church. We take the negative
possibilities and magnify them and we magnify their probability, while
minimizing positive possibilities and their chances. As an illustration, consider this exchange that
I heard years ago, when I was pastoring a church in Maryland. The Chairperson of the Finance Committee was
reporting on the recently completed stewardship campaign. She enthusiastically made her report,
concluding: “Thanks to the commitment of
our new members, overall pledges were up 8% over last year.” As soon as she said this, another member of
the committee responded: “Yeah, but how
do we know that these new people will really
pay their pledges?”
That’s
negativity. And, it is a very
destructive force within a congregation.
Negativity destroys enthusiasm and excitement and creativity.
Negativity
doesn’t just afflict congregations, either.
Negativity also undermines and stymies persons. As individuals, when we magnify our
individual deficiencies and failures, while minimizing our individual strengths
and accomplishments, then we have succumbed to negativity.
When
I was in school, I had a friend who needed to pass a language proficiency exam
in order to graduate with her degree.
She studied and studied before taking the exam, but she failed it. So, she had to re-take the exam until she
passed it. My friend began to develop a
really negative attitude about this exam, telling herself that she wasn’t smart
enough to pass the exam and that she would never be able to graduate. I, along with many of our classmates, tried
to tell her that she could certainly pass this test. Yet, she continued to focus on the
negative. When she took the exam a
second time, she failed; a third time, and she failed; a fourth time, and she failed. Finally, on about the fifth time, she passed
the exam. Yet, for six months, she
became a poster child for the power of negativity to undermine who we are and
what we can do.
I believe that negativity is unchristian. We know
from Genesis 1 that each of us has been created in God’s image. As Christians, we are persons of faith,
trusting that we are never alone.
Instead, we trust that God is always with us—in good times and bad. Through faith, we know that God is watching
over us, strengthening and guiding us.
Most importantly, we know that God’s love for us is greater than anything
we can even comprehend. Given this
reality, the life of a Christian should always be filled with hope.
By
contrast, negativity empties our lives of hope and prevents us from seeing God’s
presence in our lives. Thus, for faithful
Christians, who know God’s love, there can be no room in our lives—or in our
church—for negativity.
God
intends for us to live positively; to be happy and fulfilled; to excel and to
flourish. And, God calls us together
into communities of faith where we praise and serve together. God expects our church to make a real
difference in people’s lives. Negativity
undermines all of these dimensions of living faithfully and positively—and happily.
If you live in the Meriden-area and
do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United
Methodist Church. I especially invite
you to attend this weekend, as I venture into uncharted ground with my message
and discuss the problems of negativity. Meriden
United Methodist Church is located at the corner of Dawson and Main Streets in
Meriden, Kansas. We have two worship
services each weekend:
Ø Our
contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings.
Ø Our
classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
[i]
John Grohol, “15 Common Cognitive Disorders,” Psych Central, an online article available at http://psychcentral.com/lib/15-common-cognitive-distortions,
accessed 6 November 2013.
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