Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 4 (TMF:580)

Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 4 (TMF:580) - Daniel Litton
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       Let’s take a moment here and consider some sayings from James’ epistle. If we turn or tap to chapter 3, we can see a lot of useful information about what we say in our lives. As a matter of fact, read the whole chapter, and chapter 4, when you get a chance, as there is a lot of useful information here on this subject. I would like to note verses 5 and 6, which state: “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell” (ESV). As we all know, it doesn’t take much to be said to start a firestorm. We see this in the media all the time. Something small is said, and it turns out to be the evenings headlines. The person may have been malicious or may have not been trying to say anything wrong. What we say can even go as far to mess up our lives, as James noted, and can cause people not to trust us.

Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 3 (TMF:579)

Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 3 (TMF:579) - Daniel Litton
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       A good way for us to detect if we are suffering from a negative attitude is by examining what we say on a daily basis. What is coming out of our mouths? Are we constantly tearing down others, saying negative things about them or negative things about the company where we work or even our own church? It is really revealing when you examine what you say. Often, we don’t even realize we are saying negative, wrong things until we stop and think about what we are saying. We get so use to being negative. I have found that a good way to combat negativity is to give people the benefit of the doubt. People can be so quick to judge others, and most often they don’t look at themselves first in the mirror to make sure they are in a position to judge. A lot of times we will talk about things going on in the news, right? We may see the action of a celebrity or politician and be too quick to judge. Instead, we should try to think positive and give the person the benefit of the doubt. Time will tell the true motives of the person, and often someone we’ve criticized really wasn’t that guilty to begin with.

Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 2 (TMF:578)

Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 2 (TMF:578) - Daniel Litton
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       Whatever the situation, the rejection, or perceived rejection, can cause people to look at life in a negative way. I mean, after all, if you grew up with a negative parent, don’t you think it’s possible that negative outlook would have affected your outlook? Now, of course, this isn’t always the case, but a lot of times it is the case. For many people, they have to rework their minds, their view of life, other people, and the world around them through studying God’s Word, his goodness, which renews our minds into right thinking. A good way for us to detect if we are suffering from a negative attitude is by examining what we say on a daily basis. What is coming out of our mouths? Are we constantly tearing down others, saying negative things about them or negative things about the company where we work or even our own church? It is really revealing when you examine what you say. Often, we don’t even realize we are saying negative, wrong things until we stop and think about what we are saying. We get so use to being negative.

Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 1 (TMF:577)

Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Negative Mindset, Part 1 (TMF:577) - Daniel Litton
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       Now let’s talk about the problem of having a negative attitude. The way Satan typically embeds a negative attitude in our minds is through a past rejection in our lives, or a series of rejections, that has cultivated the negative attitude. I’ve talked about this before in the past, and I think it is a common problem, but for many people they may have grown up with a father, or even a mother, who had overkill discipline on them, who was too overbearing and strict. Often these parents belong to strict, legalistic churches, with legalistic leaders, and this can add fuel to the fire. Remember in Acts chapter 15 that the Apostles and elders did not put too heavy of a burden on the Gentile believers, but one that was reasonable. People can also have parents who totally neglect their children, which also begets a root of rejection in a child’s life. Whatever the situation, the rejection, or perceived rejection, can cause people to look at life in a negative way. I mean, after all, if you grew up with a negative parent, don’t you think it’s possible that negative outlook would have affected your outlook?

Wrong Attitudes- The Perfectionist, Part 4 (TMF:576)

Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- The Perfectionist, Part 4 (TMF:576) - Daniel Litton
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       Think of making change for the positive in your life like going on a diet. I think most of us have gone on diets, no matter what our weight, as we try to shed some pounds and get more into the image we would like to see in the mirror. A diet takes time, a change in food selections, hard work, etc. in order to get the results that we what to get. There are no quick fixes for losing weight. It took time to gain the weight, and it takes time to burn it off of our bodies. Well, in the same way, if we have been making bad choice after bad choice in our lives, we have cultivated a life that shows our bad choices. If we want to start acting differently, we have to stop making the bad choices and instead replace them with making the good and right choices. As we continue to make more and more good choices, over time a lot of the consequences of our bad choices will disappear. Our habits will change, and we will become more like Jesus in the process. And it all starts at the point where we accept Jesus as our personal head, our Lord, to guide in right decision making, and as our Savior, cleansing us from all our sins, the wrongs we’ve done in the past.