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PROGRAM D-7009
The Apostle Paul wrote: “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything…” (Ep. 5:19-20). I’ve often wanted to ask Paul, “Hey, were you serious when you wrote to always give thanks to God for everything, or was that just writer’s hyperbole? Did you really mean that as believers we should everyday have a song in our hearts to the Lord and we should give thanks all the time?”
But I’m pretty sure I know what he would say: “Of course I meant it,” he’d tell me. “It works! I’ve been in jail, beaten, falsely accused, shipwrecked, homeless, hungry. I’ve been in some tough spots and I learned to keep a song in my heart and thank God for everything. If it worked for me, it’ll work for you!” I’m sure Paul would say something like that to me.
We are so prone to focus on the negative rather than the positive. Did you know that a study shows if we have a positive experience, we tell three people. But if we have a negative experience, we tell eleven people! We think about the negatives and inevitably we enlarge them. They become exaggerated in our minds, so we think about them more, talk about them more, and become more and more miserable.
And the sad thing is, that misery spreads over to people around us. Attitudes are contagious, you know. Would anyone want to catch yours?
Don’t allow negative people to pull you down to their level. Keep a good biblical song in your heart and mind all day long. Hum it to yourself; sing the words when you can. It’s especially helpful to sing songs of thanksgiving, songs that remind you to give thanks to God for everything.
It’s good to recognize that Paul didn’t write that we are to feel thankful, because often those feelings just aren’t there. But you and I can still choose to be thankful by reciting words of thanks and refusing to allow our attitudes to get into the griping pits.
If you are having some difficulty with your work attitude now, are you willing to put this passage to the test? First, start singing in your heart to the Lord. You know some good songs and hymns and praise choruses. Sing one right now out loud or inside your heart. Then thank God for whatever it is that you don’t like in your life right now. Tell him that you trust him to make lemonade out of these lemons, and by a set of your will, choose to be thankful. It’s the best attitude adjustment you’ll ever have.