THE LIMITS OF POSITIVE THINKING!

Paul writes: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians 4,13
You may ask me what have I got against positive thinking? Actually nothing, who does like to see a person hanging his head down the whole day? Whenever difficulties arise and this person has to face them, all you hear are negative things; and everytime you ask him how he is doing you get the answer: "Oh, not so well. I've got little aches and pains here and there." Of course it is important to say the truth, but when you repeatedly hear such answers you soon stop asking because you already know what to expect. This is the extreme side, everything is black, gloomy, hopeless; there is no escape, no help, things will never get better. I prefer a person who does not give up and tries to think positively. He says to himself:"Things will get better, or I'll make it somehow."

There is a group of positive thinkers who think that they can accomplish everything by their own strength; all they have to do is think positively. Slogans such as: "Think and become rich" are popular and "I will never be ill because I will not even let myself think about getting ill." And yet they do get sick nonetheless. Positive thinking is not the problem. It becomes a problem when people think that they can manage without the help of God!

And here are the limitations: How will a person be able to receive eternal life and escape this temporal body and cast it aside through positive thinking? Even the devil has a good laugh about this. The "positive thinking" groups think too little, too little about eternity and their souls.

As a Christian are you allowed to think positively? Why not? As long as you stick to the Word of God. Paul writes: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It was God's power working through him. He gave the glory to Jesus who helped him to master his life and to be an over-comer. In the Book of Acts 12,23 we read that an angel killed Herod because he did not give God the glory, but glorified himself. God lays down the boundaries, let us learn from this. (rw)