Thanksgiving Helps Create a Positive Attitude

“Just stay positive” they say; then someone has to go and say or do something really negative.

I know some people who are so negative you cannot even find the positive post on their car battery.

Some are so negative that they think a (+) is only two (–)’s going in two different directions.

A monk took a vow of silence. Once at the monastery, he was told, “You must not speak, but once a year you will be able to say two words.”

At the end of one year they told him he could speak. He answered, “Food bad.”

After the second year when it came time for him to talk, he said, “Bed hard.”

On his third opportunity to say something, he answered, “Room cold.”

The next year he’d had all he could stand and blurted out, “I quit.”

Their answer to him was, “We’re not surprised. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.”

Sometimes people tell us not to be negative. Well, that sounds pretty negative to me! You can tell people all day long not to think something and they will think it. I think it works much better to give people something good to think about.

In fact, that’s exactly what God does in his word. Remember, again, that Paul is imprisoned and perhaps ready to face a sentence at some point. He doesn’t know whether he is going to live or die (Philippians 1.20).

But you do not find a list of complaints in Philippians. Instead you’ll see a list of good things to think about:

Whatever things are true,
Whatever things are noble,
Whatever things are just,
Whatever things are pure,
Whatever things are lovely,
Whatever things are of good report,
If there is any virtue and
If there is anything praiseworthy
– Meditate on these things. (Philippians 4.8)

How can anyone think so optimistically when surrounded by evil people with evil intentions, undesirable circumstances and others around them spouting off complaints?

Have you ever seen a pump that was so dry that it would not pump water? If you pour maybe just a cup of water into that well shaft, the pump is primed and ready to draw clear cold water out of the well.

Well, we may have to prime our praise pump just a little bit. Thanksgiving doesn’t always come easily; but as verse 6 says, in “prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,” once you begin to thank him, the acclamation will begin to flow.

If you cannot think of any big blessings for which to thank God, start thanking him for the little ones. Soon you will begin to think of so many good things that God has done and is doing, that you’ll realize there are plenty of things to thank him for – large and small.

Having entered into thanksgiving in your heart and with your tongue, then you’ll begin to realize a whole list of blessings that he has sent your way. You’ll think of true, noble, just, pure and beautiful things. You’ll think of things virtuous, thoughts of good news and things that are praiseworthy.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that as long as you are continually giving thanks, it will be virtually impossible to have a pessimistic attitude and a sure thing that you’ll think positively.