Have you ever had someone say something about you that bummed you out? Maybe it was an uninformed criticism or just a negative comment that worked its way back to your ears and kind of ruined your day—for a week or two! On the other hand, have you ever received an unsolicited praise or thank you that just made your day special? Which one affected you the most? Which one do you remember?
Recently, I got word that a fellow believer took sharp exception to some action that I was involved in and let others know about it in a negative way. Of course, they didn’t contact me first with their complaint and when I heard it I felt that it was not only over the top but uncalled for. My first reaction was . . . well I got a little angry . . . just a little. But before I could let the sun go down on my anger (Eph. 4:26) on what I’m sure would have resulted in a snarky response, I received an unexpected phone call from a friend to tell me how much he really appreciated a favor I had done for him and what a blessing it was to him and his family. Wow! What a positive attitude adjustment that kept me from doing something stupid.
As I was thinking about those two almost simultaneous events and I suppose because of my age, an old upbeat song written during World War II came to my mind. It was called, “Accentuate the Positive,” and was sung by Johnny Mercer, Bing Crosby and others. It was performed in the style of a sermon, and its message was a reminder to be sure and always focus our attention on the positive things in life rather than the negative, as a key to happiness. I thought you would enjoy the lyrics and chorus.
“Gather ’round me, everybody, gather ’round me while I’m preachin.’ Feel a sermon comin’ on me, the topic will be sin and that’s what I’m ag’in.’ If you wanna hear my story, then settle back and just sit tight, while I start reviewin’, the attitude of doin’ right.
You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum, bring gloom down to the minimum, have faith or pandemonium’s liable to walk upon the scene.
You’d better accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and latch on to the affirmative and don’t mess with mister in-between!”
God’s word says it like this, “So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up” (Romans 14:19).
Everyday we have the power to bring out the best in people by sincerely highlighting those things we appreciate about them most. — Maranatha!
— Pastor Don Kimbro