How Can Negative-Thinking Be Good?
Recently, TIME published an article entitled:
“Yes, I Suck: Self-Help Through Negative Thinking.“
The main point of the article is summarized in these words:
“Is there power in positive thinking? A study just published in the journal Psychological Science says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.”
The article didn’t make any spiritual applications – but I suggest we do so:
Think of the implications of our commonly accepted practices to “better” ourselves and how people accept or reject human depravity and the need to receive grace.
Mark Driscoll, well-known pastor/author, once said something like, “Postmoderns have never been told, ‘You suck.’ They’ve grown up hearing how good and wonderful they are and no one has been telling them the truth.”
In light of this article, perhaps that’s one reason we live in an era of great skepticism. Have we been told the truth about who we are and how to deal with it?
What the research from this article is suggesting is that being told you are great and wonderful and can do anything is not the truth and when people hear something other than the truth, it makes them feel bad that they don’t measure up to where they’d like to be (or where they are being told they SHOULD be). In the process, it brings up unnecessary guilt and shame. So we need to be honest with our shortcomings, honest with our weaknesses, because you cannot deal with something until you recognize and admit it. That’s the first step in AA. It’s the first step in any recovery process, whether purely physiological, psychological or spiritual – to admit there is a problem and accept the fact that it is this way. That brings it into the light where you can remove unnecessary guilt and shame because you no longer are hiding it (or trying to convince yourself it doesn’t exist).
My basic interest in this research is this: if people would embrace this concept it would put them in a vulnerable and humble state of existence where I think they would be more open to hearing and embracing the Gospel… instead of trying to fix themselves. The Gospel is not a self-help program. It is a God-saves story.
The widely accepted theory among psychologists has been that WE can make ourselves BETTER through positive thinking. This is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says all of our righteousness is as filthy rags and there is no one without sin. Popular psychology undermines the Gospel and diverts people’s attention from this truth by telling them all they need is within them… that they do not need any help from outside of themselves.
So this new research (in this article) is going against everything modern psychology has been saying by telling people — stop lying to yourself, it’s okay to admit that you’re a mess, that you’re not perfect, that you have weaknesses.
The sad truth about contemporary society is that it widely rejects the love and forgiveness of Christ in favor of self discovery and moral relativism. If society (including us) turns to self to make improvements, then we are making ourselves our own saviors and gods. People must understand their own human depravity, their wretchedness, in order to realize they cannot save themselves and therefore must seek for help. The Bible teaches that we need God in a huge way and ONLY through HIM can we experience a transformed life.
In other words – IF YOU NEVER KNOW YOU’RE A SINNER, YOU’LL NEVER LOOK FOR THE SAVIOR. And finally, these studies are supporting this spiritual truth by telling people “you have limitations,” and that’s where I as a preacher say, “and one of them is that you may be a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior.”
My life text is 1 Corinthians 15:10 –
Paul is commenting about how hard he has worked in comparison with the other apostles and then he makes this statement:
“…by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me has not been without effect.”
This is how I view myself – if there is anything good in me, if you see anything, it is by God’s grace and His grace has not been without effect in me – so you will see that my life has been changed and continues to transform. I think this is healthy improvement for my life… it is GOD-Help through honest thinking. The world could use more honest thinking.
What about you? Have you been disappointed in “Self-Help” practices or had great success? When have you held on to your negative views of yourself more deeply when someone is telling you positive statements? How might accepting your weaknesses or failures be a good thing? What power lies in knowing your limitations?
Buy:Amoxicillin.Lipitor.Acomplia.Lipothin.Ventolin.Female Pink Viagra.Seroquel.Aricept.Prozac.Female Cialis.Cozaar.Buspar.Zocor.Zetia.Nymphomax.Benicar.Advair.Lasix.Wellbutrin SR.SleepWell….
Cleaning http://btwinuvvc37.AUTOSECTIONS.INFO/tag/Cleaning+Dryer+lipsticks+amerimark/ : amerimark…
lipsticks…