Imagine that you could read the minds of your guests. What if they are very critical and even hateful? How would you react? How long could you stand to listen to their slander before you’ve had enough and ask them to leave?
Are you entertaining negative thoughts?
Isn’t that an interesting phrase?
Noah Webster defines entertain several ways: 1. To keep, hold or maintain in the mind with favor; to reserve in the mind; to harbor; to cherish. 2. To treat with conversation; to amuse or instruct by discourse; properly, to engage the attention and retain the company of one, by agreeable conversation, discourse or argument. 3. To receive into the house and treat with hospitality, either at the table only, or with lodging also.
Do you roll out the red carpet and welcome negative, critical, unloving thoughts? How long will you let them stay? Will you play the perfect host and give them a cozy room and invite them to stay awhile? How long will you feed and nourish them? What will it take to satisfy their appetites?
I would love to tell you, in my many years of experience, that there is a quick fix…but there’s not. Your brain is a non-stop computer, processing incoming data, and the enemy is constantly trying to insert a virus into your programming. The first step to victory is early detection. You must become self-aware, notice what you are thinking, especially when you’re on that run-away negativity train. You’ve ridden that train many times and you know there’s nothing good at the end of the line.
God created you with the wonderful power of choice! You can choose to get off the ride and turn that train around. Janice Seney once told me that all of heaven and all of hell is waiting to back up your choice. Sometimes all it takes is to say, “I choose to have a good attitude. I choose to walk in joy and no one can steal my joy!”
Many times we just pray and ask God to give us a good attitude when all it takes is for us to choose and then heaven comes to back us up. That’s called grace!
Recent Comments