So letâs be honest...did you make it through 24 hours without complaining? It was pretty hard wasnât. Our minds are so prone to focusing on negativity that it has become our default. Rather than looking for the good things in a situation, we tend to pay attention to what is wrong, how someone failed us, or the part that was unfair. This bend toward the negative is unfortunately a result of how we were born into this world. Each of us, regardless of what background, ethnicity, socio-economic status are born into this world with a sinful nature.
Wait! Donât stop reading. This isnât an attempt to get you âsavedâ (in the sense of adding your name to a church roll).
Rather, whether we realize it or not sin has impacted all of us and everything around us. This impact is not just related to our âchurchâ experience or even just whether or not we are going to heaven. It has vandalized every part of our life.
Listen to this statement from Elena Aguilar in her book, Onward. She says, âThe brain perceives negative stimuli faster and more intensely than positive stimuli. Within a tenth of a second, we can store negative stimuli in our memories.â
What?! Within a tenth of a second, we are already getting hacked?
I suggest that the reason that our brains are wired like this is a direct result of our sinful nature. We are born broken. And since we have spent so much time living broken, we expect brokenness out of life - every day and in every situation, by default.
This is why the first step to a truly good life is ârepentanceâ. No, I am not talking about going to the altar, crying and slobbering, and then signing a card. Repentance literally means âchanging your mindâ. In order to live a life of gratitude, we have to start here and change the way we think about our daily encounters.
Jesus came preaching the âGood Newsâ and his message started like this, âRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.â
Change your mind because this is the only way to access the Kingdom. And the Kingdom always has authority over your earthly reality.
On the second day of our 21-day challenge, I challenge you to change your mind. We will talk more about how you do this. But for today, the key is to pay attention to how many times you get hacked into responding negatively rather than seeing the good at the moment.
Write down every time you get hacked today with negativity. Put it in your phone notes or your paper journal. The goal is to start recognizing that what has become your ânormalâ needs to change. Each time you got hacked, put the positive that you should have saw in the situation next to it.
Disclaimer: If you haven't accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, there is no solution to overcoming this hack of sin. If you would like to deal with this reality and live your best life, contact me.
NEGATIVE / HACK: POSITIVE / GOOD / GRACE:
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21G Verse: Romans 7:14Â For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.15Â For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.16Â Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.17Â So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
