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I often hear the following thought expressed: “I can’t think that, because that is negative. I have to keep happy thoughts”

Who says?

Well, obviously, the Bible says… “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.” (Phil. 4.8)

But I gain something just a little different from that besides simply “keeping happy thoughts”. If you take it a step further, what I gain is the knowledge that our thought processes can be directed and change, thus changing our moods and outlook. I also gain that we should attempt to always “esteem others higher than we esteem ourselves” and keep Christ-like attitudes.

But I’ve sensed in some people a fear of negativity, and by that fear, neglecting real facts and not being able to process realistic emotions, outlooks, or relationships.

I think that perhaps one of the strongest skills a person can gain as a balanced Christian person is the ability to accurately filter and process the incoming facts of life and process them in a way that allows them to maintain the clearest outlook on life, thereby moderating the moods and attitudes portrayed.

Continued after the jump…

And often times as not, a “negative thought” may come into the equation. Now, the people I mentioned earlier would automatically completely negate the thought in favor of happier things. They simply choose a happier, fanciful reality in opposition to a fact that happens to be negative in nature. Extreme optimism is just as un-balanced as continual pessimism, and just as dangerous and un-Biblical. In order for an equation to balance, you must have accurate information on both ends. What is true in math is true for a decision-making process. If you dismiss all negative thoughts, then you can no longer function with all the information before you.

You know, sometimes a negative thought about yourself or your situation may be the best possible thing for you, in order to show a way to improve. Without negative thoughts, there can be no possible room for improvement. A fear of negativity is a fear of life, because as flawed humans living in a flawed world, bad things do happen, and processing the unpleasant situation mentally is not a sin and is not cause for depression, anxiety, or distress.

If you do not process the negative situations in your life with prayer and thought, you will inadvertently build up emotions that can only be dismissed for so long before they will eventually wear you down and explode.

I would highly encourage for those who have struggled with depression or wild swings of emotions to examine what Scripture says about creating Biblical filters to process each situation and learn to moderate your thoughts, as they have a way of getting away from us sometimes. The mind can be trained, distracted, abused, fed, starved… just like any other muscle in your body.

Some would call me a pessimist, but I am very much a realist who will go into detail about either side of the pro/con list, thus alternating between sounding like a pessimist or an optimist. I call it balanced, others call it boring or slightly morbid. Hey, how many realists that you know are party animals… Comments welcomed.