Are you a negative person? You may not characterize yourself this way, but others around will surely know it if you are one. When someone asks, “How are you today?” – Is your answer filled with a litany of your problems, depressing happenings in the world, reasons why you were wronged, how the world is falling apart, or how everything is out of control in your life? Do people hesitate to ask your opinion because they know it will be filled with a barrage of bitterness? Do you find yourself gravitating to others who have a negative spirit and enjoy commiserating with others? (i.e. misery loves company!). If you answered yes to any of these, you might be a negative person.
Negativity is produced from a combination of bitterness and hopelessness. It is usually the circumstances of life that will bring you into this mindset. Some would say that negativity is just realism, but it can be more than that. This spirit within you can result in consequences for yourself, others and your witness (and can actually be sinful as well).
What does it do to others? Being a negative person doesn’t just affect you, it affects everyone around you. Do you uplift and bring joy to other people’s lives or do you remind them of the misery of the world around them? According to Scripture we have a responsibility to “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Simply stated, negativity brings other people down when Scripture tells us that we have an obligation to uplift our brothers and sisters in Christ.
What does it do to you? Of course, negativity works within your own heart as well. It will get your eyes focused on your immediate circumstances and off of eternity. It will cause upheaval in your soul and will stir up anxiety. Philippians 4:6 tells us to “Be careful (i.e. be anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Negativity steals your peace and takes your mind away from the sure solution that is found only in the Lord. Instead of dwelling on all that is wrong, we are told to dwell on “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.” (Philippians 4:8). You won’t be able think on the things in this list and continue to be a negative person.
What does it say about your God? Instead of being thankful for the goodness of God in their life, negative people dwell on their injustice and troubles. Negativity is your proclamation that God is not good, does not satisfy your longings, and does not meet your needs. Why would an unbeliever want to turn and trust a God who is represented by someone who is so negative about their life? You demonstrate that your God has not given you hope and peace.
If you struggle with negativity, you may find it very difficult to break free from the stranglehold it has on your heart. You may find that you can’t just “be positive” because it is the right thing to do. But there is a solution: In order to change your mindset, you must change your outlook.
Many of the Psalms were written by David and many times they express his anguish, darkness, bitterness, hopelessness, pain and some form of what we might call negativity. However, if you read each Psalm to the end you will find that they nearly always end in hope. One of the most famous, Psalm 23, takes the Psalmist through “the valley of the shadow of death” (that’s pretty negative) yet ends with a sure hope that he will “dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. Negativity demonstrates our short-sighted and circumstantial vision. It is bred from being too wrapped up in the things of this earth and having lost a focus on the things of eternity. It comes from putting too much weight on the troubles around us and not enough faith in the God who is able to pull us through our trials.
Trials and troubles will weigh on you. That’s part of this life. When they overcome you, remember that God is bigger than all your problems and His promises are eternal. Even if your bad circumstances last the rest of your life, they are only here for a short time in light of eternity. In the end, only God can change a negative into a positive. He is your hope and peace. There are countless examples of this in Scripture and He wants you to be one as well.