Negativity

Now there’s a word that we often here in a somewhat critical manner. It is preached against, scorned at, cast aside as rubbish, and treated poorly by most people today, in the church, and outside of it, yet it has a certain charm that we cannot ignore. Let me say right off, I believe that the Bible is a negative Book! It shows the depravity of man; it tells us that we are no good, and that we could never be good enough to even approach the throne of God, let alone dwell forever with Him in eternity. The Bible tells us that without Christ, we can do nothing, and on our own, we are nothing but putridness and a stench in the nostrils of God; it tells us that without help, without Christ, we are all doomed to an eternal, fiery hell. Now, I ask you, is that negative or not? Yet it is all true! You see, optimism is often folly; it is not reality; reality is seen in the day to day existence and interaction of our fellow man with us--that is reality, and it is almost always negative.
I believe that Solomon, in all his wisdom, was a pessimist. We are afraid of that word, but pessimism is honesty when it comes to human relationships. There is no good on man; why then should we expect good from him? How can we? Do you see the foolishness of it all? We must only look for good from God, and from His Beloved Son, Jesus, for “there is none good, no not one” save Christ only. Solomon has said that “In much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Eccl. 1:18) He goes on to say that “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Eccl. 7:3) In Eccl. 7:4 he says “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” and it is said of Christ Himself that He was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3) You see, it is better to dwell in the house of sorrow, than live in the house of mirth. I believe that anyone that takes an honest look at himself, and at society in general, will be a pessimistic person, but that is not all bad…it should lead us to Jesus! Don’t be afraid of negativity, it can be a useful tool in the hands of the Lord, and accomplish much in us for the glory of His Majesty.