Turning negatives to positives
It conveys the idea of a quiet buzz, something negative said about someone in power. To complain in a low tone or in private. To grumble. As in murmuring against the boss, the pastor, a parent, the prime minister or president.
In the Old Testament, it crops up A LOT after the children of Israel finally manage to flee from Egypt in the dead of night. Moses is a hero and they dance and celebrate briefly; and then the children of Israel find that the water in the desert is mostly bitter. They quickly become embittered toward Moses and the Bible says they begin to murmur. (Exodus 15-16)
Actually, the kind of complaining I hear a lot today is not so quiet: it is broadcast in the media as certain talk show hosts - no matter which party is in office - find something to complain about. If the opposite party is in power, they attack, of course, the president or prime minister. If that party actually manages to pass some legislation or do something they’ve been for, these ongoing critics say, “Why didn’t so and so do it sooner, or he is just doing it to get votes.” If their own “party” is in power, they attack the governing body, which won’t let him or her move their agenda forward.
It gets very old. I turn off the TV, the radio, surf to the next thing on the Web, and read only the headlines in the newspaper. That is not good, because it is hard to stay informed when you are sick of what you hear.
What is the remedy for this caustic spirit that threatens to sour life and outlook? We may not be positioned very well to affect national debate and spirit, but we can at least deal with grumbling and murmuring in our own lives.
To find some answers, let’s look a little deeper at the situation facing the children of Israel and Moses. The problem is that they have not trusted God to meet their needs - as God has so amply provided in the past. When we are overflowing with negativity, we are not really trusting God, but God ends up supplying our needs anyway (not always our wants).
One commentary mentions, that in Exodus 16, the people long for the “pots of meat” of Egypt where they ate their fill; but probably their murmuring spirit has magnified how good they had it in their minds. They obviously were not wealthy while enslaved in Egypt. When we are drowning in negativity, things always look/sound better “back then:” the good old days.
One man who is on the facilities team at his church said that he is confronted so frequently by complaints on Sunday morning about issues with the heating, cooling or lights, that it makes him not want to come to worship. The pastor, upon hearing this, responded, “Welcome to my world.” As parents, we get tired of hearing complaints from our kids about the food, our rules, we’re mean, stingy, and we make them work too hard. It is easy and human nature to find things to complain about.
I would think that God, even though in the “complaint hearing business” must get very tired of our continued requests and petitions. How much better to also remember to bring to God our praises and happiness.
How does this apply to whatever setting you are in? The day I was writing this, the daily stress tip sent out from my Another Way Web page was very applicable. (I don’t write them and they go out automatically, so I confess I don’t always read them.) It said:
“Try to be positive for an entire day. For one day, experience what it would be like to banish negativity from your life. Every time bad feelings, lack of confidence and discouragement start to creep in, quash them with positive thoughts and actions. Rather than bemoan your fate, turn mishaps into opportunities, mistakes into learning experiences. There’s a positive aspect to every situation, and it’s up to you to find it. And the way you react will have a major impact on making things better or worse. Today - all day - replace negative thoughts and attitudes with confidence and optimism.” (Written by Jerry McTigue)
One man who received the above tip emailed back: “Thanks, I needed that.” And I need to thank him in return for drawing my attention to this simple reminder. As we take on a revised attitude, it can affect our own spirits, our family’s, and ripple out to friends, neighbors and beyond.
You can sign up for the free daily stress tip sent to your email as above. Just go to http://www.thirdway.com/AW/stress.asp. The tips are also available in a book, 400 Ways to Stop Stress Now and Forever, by Jerry McTigue.
Another Way is a column from Third Way Media by Melodie Davis. She is the author of nine books, most recently Whatever Happened to Dinner and has written Another Way since 1987. She is also the producer and co-host of Shaping Families radio program (shapingfamilies.com) airing nationally.
Published: July 27, 2011
