I’m Positive This Is a Bad Idea

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8 

How many of us have had those days that just…don’t?

They don’t go as planned.

They don’t work out.

They don’t meet our expectations.

Maybe it starts first thing in the morning. The alarm doesn’t go off—or, more likely, we don’t hear it—and the thing that finally wakes us up is the boss calling to ask where we are.

That is just not a fun way to start the day.

Or maybe you get to the jobsite expecting the project to be 80% complete and discover that somehow it is only 40% done.

Oh, here’s a fun one: you subcontract out a job and then get the phone call telling you the guys just…didn’t show up. Yeah….Those things are frustrating!

Here at the Boss shop, we have an employee who is an exceptionally positive person. Sometimes, when the rest of us are completely prepared to be negative, this employee simply will not allow it. They push positivity on the rest of the shop so relentlessly that our laser engraver eventually took a pair of their scissors and engraved:

“Positivity Pimp.” On their designated shop scissors. It was all in good fun, of course, and this employee positively loved it.

While thinking about this blog post, I asked them: “How do you stay positive?”

The answer was pretty simple: “I look at the positive side of the situation.”

That may have been the wrong answer to give me. Because for the rest of the day, I became extremely “positive.”

“I am positive this is wrong.” “I am positive this is a bad idea.” “I am positive I have absolutely no idea what I am doing.” And even: “I am positive this may work out…or it won’t!” We got a few laughs out of it, but there's a very good point hidden inside that simple answer.

Philippians 4:8 was written by the Apostle Paul, and there is something incredibly important to remember about the circumstances surrounding this letter:

Paul was imprisoned. Think about that for a minute.

Here is a man who was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and because of that faithfulness, he found himself under arrest. And yet Paul writes about joy. He writes about rejoicing. He writes about peace. And then he tells believers to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

POSITIVITY, PEOPLE!

Now, before we take that too far, Paul was not teaching some ancient version of “good vibes only.” He wasn’t saying difficult things should be ignored. He wasn’t pretending imprisonment was wonderful. He wasn’t telling Christians to walk around with fake smiles while everything in their lives fell apart.

Biblical positivity is not pretending the problem doesn’t exist.

It is remembering that the problem is not the only thing that exists.

There is still truth. There is still goodness. There is still beauty. Something worthy of praise still exists. And, most importantly, there is still God. That changes everything!

Our minds can run wild when something goes wrong. One bad thing happens, and suddenly our thoughts jump ten steps ahead.

“This whole project is going to fail.”

“This day is ruined.”

“Nothing ever works out.”

 “They’re probably thinking…”

“What if this happens next?”

Sound familiar? But Paul begins with: Whatever is true.

Not whatever we are afraid might happen. Not whatever conclusion we have created in our minds. Not whatever assumption our frustration is currently feeding us.

What is actually true?

Maybe the job is behind schedule. That is true.

But “everything is a disaster, and there is absolutely no way to fix it” may not be.

Maybe somebody failed to show up. That is true.

But “nobody can ever be depended upon” probably isn’t.

Maybe today did not go the way you wanted. That is true.

But that does not mean God has abandoned you.

Our thoughts matter because what we repeatedly think about eventually begins shaping the way we see everything around us. Paul tells us to deliberately bring our minds back to truth.

Another temptation comes when life goes sideways. We start feeding the irritation. You know what I mean. Someone annoys us, and instead of letting it go, we replay it. And replay it. And replay it again. Then we mentally prepare the argument we should have had. We come up with three better responses. Maybe four. Possibly seven. And suddenly something that happened for two minutes has occupied our minds for two hours. Meanwhile, Philippians 4:8 asks a completely different question:

Is it honorable? Is it right? Is it pure? That doesn’t mean we never address problems. Sometimes problems absolutely need to be confronted. But there is a difference between dealing with a problem and letting it take up permanent residence in our minds. Not every thought deserves a chair at the table.

This might be where our shop’s resident “Positivity Pimp” has figured something out. When something goes wrong, we can stare exclusively at what went wrong. Or we can intentionally look for what is still good. Maybe the job is only 40% complete, not 80%.

Okay. What has been accomplished?

Maybe somebody didn’t show up. Who did?

One moment you can be thankful for?

Sometimes the lovely and commendable things are huge. Sometimes they are very small. But we have to be willing to notice them.

Paul says: “Think about these things.” That is an instruction. For many of us, negativity is automatic.

Worrying, complaining, assuming the worst, focusing on what is wrong is automatic.

But turning our minds toward truth, goodness, and God's faithfulness? THAT TAKES WORK!

Sometimes we have to catch ourselves halfway through a negative thought and say:

“Nope. We are not staying here.” Maybe that sounds silly.

But Scripture repeatedly reminds us that what occupies our minds matters.

We cannot control every situation, person, or project around us, and apparently we cannot even guarantee that the alarm clock will save us. But we can decide what we continually allow our minds to dwell upon.

So the next time the alarm doesn't go off…The jobsite isn't where it should be…The subcontractor doesn't show…Someone tests your patience…Or the whole day simply doesn't…

Stop for a moment. Ask yourself: What is true? What is honorable? What is right? What is pure? What is lovely? What is worthy of praise?

And then deliberately turn your thoughts toward those things.

Will it magically fix everything? No.

But it may change the person walking through it. And I am positive that is a pretty good place to start.