If you want to get a pulse on how people are doing today, just listen to a group of unhappy teenagers. Although being around a losing team, the down trodden and less fortunate may paint an inaccurate picture, spirits of optimism seem to be disappearing. Whether its listening to the rants of co-workers, observing body language or viewing a news telecast, negativity is taking over.
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals,” 1 Corinthians 15:33.
When I was younger, during my junior high years, I battled depression. Maybe this is normal, a phase of adolescence, yet positivity was lacking from my life. I guess you could say I was a Debbie downer, able to suck the life out of any room that I entered. Until one of my classmates committed suicide in eighth grade, life didn’t seem worth living.
Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, Proverbs 22:24.
However, sometime between eighth and tenth grade, a series of events led me out of this negative mentality. A teacher, youth group and spirit of emptiness set the stage for rebirth. While I resisted change for two years, my heart wasn’t ready to accept Christ until the world dealt me a hand of disappointment. Perhaps, optimism remains invisible today until the Holy Spirit breathes new life into dead and dying souls. God willing, this trend of pessimism will be reversed to spawn a revival of optimism.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 