The Danger of Negativity

By Evangelist Paul Mershon

March 4, 2010

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:6-8).

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he . . .” (Proverbs 23:7).

One of the unhappiest men I have ever met has been engaged for years in the business of expose. Much of what he publishes is of a definite negative nature, and though he has produced many good things that are helpful and instructional, I find that there seems to be a penchant on his part for the negative. When a person spends copious amounts of time dwelling on all that is without a positive note, this is not healthy spiritually or mentally. Overmuch attention paid to all that is negative is a dangerous and deleterious thing. It can have far-reaching consequences as the spiritual well-being of those given to negative thinking can be seriously compromised. There is a real danger in constantly looking at things from a “worst case scenario” perspective. Having an imbalanced view skewed towards all that is wrong in the world and all that is sordid and ugly can very easily lead to depression and defeat. There is no question that negative thinking leads to mental turmoil and unrest. This behavior does not comport with the clear teaching of Scripture as we are reminded in Philippians 4:8 what God would have us focus our hearts and minds upon.

I have oft-noted that the news media is just loaded with negativity. There is no doubt that 95% of that which is presented in the broadcast and print media is of negative content. I had one pastor friend who shared with me that he completely stopped watching the news on television, stopped listening to the news and talk shows on the radio, and stopped reading newspapers altogether. He said that his blood pressure decreased and his walk with the Lord improved exponentially. With little or no negative input throughout the day he found himself clear-minded, and experienced a renewing of his mind that was not only refreshing, but brought a revival to his soul. Now neither he nor I would suggest that you never watch the news, read a newspaper, or listen to talk radio. But I think it wise to consider that a steady diet of the secular media will eventually take a toll on your spirit. Surely God would not have us stick our heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich and be ignorant and unlearned when it comes to the dangers and unscriptural movements and issues attendant to the day in which we live. But if we feed upon a constant diet of negative input we are sure to get off balance and have a darkened and cynical mindset. We know that we live in a dark, fallen, negative world, but we also know that God would not have our thinking dominated by it. Because we do live in a dark and fallen world we must offset its effects by basking in the beauty of holiness and encouraging ourselves in the Lord our God.

My wife and I were conversing yesterday morning as we drove from place-to-place running errands and tending to some routine business matters. As we talked, the subject of the spiritual danger of the negative spirit came up. Certainly all of God’s people must take great care to guard against undue negativity. It can be a cancerous pox upon relationships, marriages, the home, and certainly a church. I have seen far too much negativity amongst Christians to last a lifetime. It is unacceptable in my life and your life, and it is dishonoring to God. I have seen too much of it in my own life, and it grieves me when it rears its ugly head.

Negativity is spawned in a heart not right with God, that is for certain. It is sin that needs to be confessed and repented of. Negative thinkers are generally miserable people. They rarely smile, and find very little good in anything. Unhappiness and joylessness permeate their soul. An angry spirit is usually boiling just under the surface. I have come to see negativity as a device that Satan can exploit and use as a weapon against us as he wars against the soul.

There is perhaps no place extant where a negative mindset will show up than in the sacred desk. Over the years I have enjoyed the preaching of the late Adrian Rogers. One of the outstanding attributes of his preaching ministry was his gracious and kind spirit. He could identify sin, preach against sin, and identify the dangers confronting God’s people without an undue negative spirit. Yes, I know, he was a Southern Baptist who should have never stayed in the convention, but I do praise the Lord that He was used in my life, and the lives of many others over the years. His speech was gracious and seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6), and I always felt edified after hearing one of his messages. I continue to listen to his recorded sermons to this day via the internet. Many a time I have been convicted and brought to the confession of sin while listening to him, but I never felt beat up, but lifted up by his tone and Spirit-filled handling of the Word of God. Undue negativity was certainly not a part of his thinking, nor did it control his life.

Contrast the testimony of an Adrian Rogers to a group of Baptist men who gathered for a conference called the “Bad Attitude Baptist Blowout.” Just the theme of this conference tells the story. Instead of God’s people being lifted up, they came away from this bombastic, negative week of haranguing beaten up! Negative men will always preach a negative message in a negative way with negative results. Surely sin is negative, and the results of sin are negative, and the preacher must cry out against all that is unholy. But he must do so with tears of compassion, remembering that he too is but a sinner saved by grace. The consecrated preacher of the Word of God must never fear crying out against all that is evil and wicked. Man is a sinner in need of a Saviour, and unless he repents he will perish and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. Many, if not most, of God’s people today need repentance and revival. The secret sins within the camp must be exposed and cried out against. But when the preacher cries out against the negative nature and aspects of sin, he must also point people to a positive answer, and that answer is found in the lovely Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those dear folks allowing their lives to be dominated by negative thinking, those dear folks allowing their thoughts to be shaped by negative input, cannot enjoy “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” whereby their hearts (emotions) and their minds (thinking) are kept healthy through focusing on Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). To protect the heart and mind from undue negativity, the biblical prescription is to think on, “ . . . whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report . . .” Indeed, “ . . . if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Now, for the record, I am surely not advocating here for the so-called “power of positive thinking” dribble promoted for years, first by the late Norman Vincent Peale, and then later on by his disciple, Robert Schuller. My exhortation and admonition here is for God’s people to take great care to have and to keep a spiritually healthy thought-life centered on the clear teaching found in Philippians 4:8. This cannot be realized and enjoyed when one has a negative and cynical mindset. When the mind has been habitually trained to think about everything in a negative way, this can be a difficult pattern of living to break. But the things that seem to be impossible with us are possible with God. We must acknowledge negative thinking as sin, confess it as sin, repent of it as sin, and sanctify our hearts and minds afresh to the Lord if we are to experience real and lasting deliverance from the sin of negative thinking. So, I close with a positive thought about victory over negative thinking.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).