Negativity
I think there are two kinds of people in the world--those who can find the best in the worst circumstances and those who can find the worst in the best circumstances.
I think I say "your focus determines your reality" more than any aphorism. Numbers 13 tells the story of the Israelites spying out the Promises Land. The moral of the story is that ten people who chose to focus on the negative infected the entire group and killed off a generation. Negativity can have devasting effects. It can keep you from fulfilling your God-given destiny. I've found that one negative person can outweight the effects of twenty positive people.
I have a zero tolerance policy on some issues--among them are loyalty, integrity, and negativity. I think negativity is a cancer. There is a time and place for constructive criticism--criticism that is shared in a genuine spirit of humility and a desire to help. It is the motive and the track record that determine how much you listen to people. I don't lend much weight to people I don't know. I think one problem with negative people is their abiltity to point out negative things and their unwillingness to do anything about it. Erwin McManus said, "Never let an arrow pierce your heart unless it first passes through the filter of Scripture." Ed Young says, "Negative people have their wires crossed." If you cross the wires when you jump the batteries you're in trouble, you're going to have problems. Negative people try to negate what God is doing or wants to do. Here's a rule of thumb on criticism: if there is nothing redemptive, if there is no signature, if you perceive a devisive or critical spirit, don't let it get into your spirit. It's not worth it. And don't handle the negative stuff in a public forum--one negative person can deflate an entire meeting. You've got to isolate and quarantine the negativity. Don't give negative people a microphone or platform--period. Unfortunately, the ten spies "leaked" their negative report to the "media" and an entire nation felt the effects. I heard Ed Young talk about negativity recently. He said you can lead like Bill Hybels and preach like T.D. Jakes. You can have Beth Moore as your woman's pastor or Gary Smalley as your couples pastor. It doesn't matter. You'll always have people who will find something negative no matter what.
Ed Young said it doesn't matter how great a preacher you are--people leave churches pastored by the greatest preachers because the preaching "isn't deep enough" and they are being "fed." Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, preaching is perceived differently by different people. I think part of it depends on "learning preferences."
Somehow Moses kept his cool. Nehemiah is another leader who dealt with lots of negativity, but he stayed above the fray. He didn't waste his time going into the valley of Ono. It's not a good investment of time and energy. Don't give negative people access. Negativity is like wearing a fifty pound backpack around. It just makes you feel heavy! You've got to stay the course. Know who you're not. Know who you're called to be. Right before a breakthrough you're bound to experience pruning. You need to get rid of the dead weight (negative people with a critical spirit) so that you can run farther and faster. I think you've got to go back to the original vision and original promise all the time. I go back to the gym at Results where we met as a core group of 19 people. It's my Bethel. The ten spies lost sight of the original vision. Their negativity was the byproduct on focusing on their external circumstances instead of the promises of God.
Nothing has changed.
I think I say "your focus determines your reality" more than any aphorism. Numbers 13 tells the story of the Israelites spying out the Promises Land. The moral of the story is that ten people who chose to focus on the negative infected the entire group and killed off a generation. Negativity can have devasting effects. It can keep you from fulfilling your God-given destiny. I've found that one negative person can outweight the effects of twenty positive people.
I have a zero tolerance policy on some issues--among them are loyalty, integrity, and negativity. I think negativity is a cancer. There is a time and place for constructive criticism--criticism that is shared in a genuine spirit of humility and a desire to help. It is the motive and the track record that determine how much you listen to people. I don't lend much weight to people I don't know. I think one problem with negative people is their abiltity to point out negative things and their unwillingness to do anything about it. Erwin McManus said, "Never let an arrow pierce your heart unless it first passes through the filter of Scripture." Ed Young says, "Negative people have their wires crossed." If you cross the wires when you jump the batteries you're in trouble, you're going to have problems. Negative people try to negate what God is doing or wants to do. Here's a rule of thumb on criticism: if there is nothing redemptive, if there is no signature, if you perceive a devisive or critical spirit, don't let it get into your spirit. It's not worth it. And don't handle the negative stuff in a public forum--one negative person can deflate an entire meeting. You've got to isolate and quarantine the negativity. Don't give negative people a microphone or platform--period. Unfortunately, the ten spies "leaked" their negative report to the "media" and an entire nation felt the effects. I heard Ed Young talk about negativity recently. He said you can lead like Bill Hybels and preach like T.D. Jakes. You can have Beth Moore as your woman's pastor or Gary Smalley as your couples pastor. It doesn't matter. You'll always have people who will find something negative no matter what.
Ed Young said it doesn't matter how great a preacher you are--people leave churches pastored by the greatest preachers because the preaching "isn't deep enough" and they are being "fed." Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, preaching is perceived differently by different people. I think part of it depends on "learning preferences."
Somehow Moses kept his cool. Nehemiah is another leader who dealt with lots of negativity, but he stayed above the fray. He didn't waste his time going into the valley of Ono. It's not a good investment of time and energy. Don't give negative people access. Negativity is like wearing a fifty pound backpack around. It just makes you feel heavy! You've got to stay the course. Know who you're not. Know who you're called to be. Right before a breakthrough you're bound to experience pruning. You need to get rid of the dead weight (negative people with a critical spirit) so that you can run farther and faster. I think you've got to go back to the original vision and original promise all the time. I go back to the gym at Results where we met as a core group of 19 people. It's my Bethel. The ten spies lost sight of the original vision. Their negativity was the byproduct on focusing on their external circumstances instead of the promises of God.
Nothing has changed.
1 Comments:
Amen!
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