When the Sons of Thunder were close to
disbanding, they faced a financial crisis. During the previous
year this Christian music group that I directed had accumulated
a debt of $5,000. Though that doesn’t sound like much by today’s
standards, to us young folks in 1974 it might as well have been
$5,000,000. We wracked our brains in band meetings but couldn’t
figure any way out short of bankruptcy.
Things changed dramatically when a friend with a
gift for thinking optimistically came and gave us a pep talk.
While he didn’t offer any specific solution, he said he was
certain that we had the resources to solve this problem. He knew
that, with Christ’s help, there were steps we could take to do it.
That was both a comforting and challenging thought, and it
took well with us. Our discussions took on a more positive tone
after that, and within a short time we arrived at a plan: We
would invite former band members to join us for a
farewell-reunion concert and sell tickets. In addition, we would
let concerned friends know of our need, hoping some would help
with donations. Though only two months remained to pull these
details together, we felt determined to give it our best.
The Lord blessed our efforts immensely. The concert was
surprisingly successful, contributions came in, and in the end
we raised almost exactly the amount needed to pay off our debt.
While there were many miracles to celebrate, the greatest was
that God through one optimistic friend got us thinking
hopefully and with minds of faith about our situation. We had
practically convinced ourselves that our predicament had no
solution. Once we began thinking constructively, an answer
quickly came.
I had a similar experience several years later, when I again
benefited from the optimism of a positive-thinking friend. Our
family was living in a townhouse, and my office was in the
basement. Because an open stairway connected the basement and
the first floor, I was often distracted by noise from upstairs.
The obvious solution would be to install a door. Yet since the
stairway had an open, expansive design, I couldn’t think of any
logical way to fit a door into the wide space at the top or
bottom of the stairs. I’m embarrassed to admit how much time I
spent mulling the problem over, trying to come up with a
workable design. I concluded there was no solution short of a
major modification to the stairway, which would violate the
community’s architectural standards and be too expensive to
undertake.
One evening, though, I shared my dilemma at a Bible study. A
man whom I respected for his constructive approach to problems
responded that he was sure there would be an easy way to install
a door. His confidence inspired me, and I thought, He’s
right, there must be a way to do it. The next day it dawned
on me that I could insert a door at the landing point where the
stairway turned halfway down; since the stairwell was more
enclosed there, this was an easy modification to make.
The solution was, in fact, so obvious and simple that I
couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before. I had been
locked into thinking that a door would have to be placed at the
top or bottom of the staircase. Only when I began thinking
optimistically did it occur to me that there was another
alternative--to install it in the middle. And this was the
solution that worked.
Optimism and Faith
It may not seem profound to say that our attitude affects our
approach to challenges. In a general way we all recognize this
to be true. Yet most of the time we fail to appreciate the
extent to which this is true. Our pessimism can literally
shut down our creative energy for solving a problem. Even more
typically, it channels that energy in the wrong direction. When
a problem seems difficult, we can be incredibly clever at
convincing ourselves it has no solution. Once we reach that
conclusion, we interpret all the evidence we see as proof we’re
correct--that the problem is indeed beyond hope. Having
established that, we can overlook obvious solutions which may be
staring us in the face.
When we are able to make that extraordinary shift to thinking
optimistically, however, it’s remarkable how quickly we
sometimes find a way to remedy our predicament. In some cases,
we’re astonished at how obvious the solution actually is.
Yet reaching this point of optimism can be no small
challenge. When faced with a difficult problem, we more
typically fall into a pessimistic manner of thinking about it,
often without realizing this is happening.
My experiences particularly bring to mind how others’
attitudes affect our own. We are creatures of suggestion, and we
easily and unconsciously absorb the positive or negative
outlooks of those around us.
We see fascinating examples of both types of influence
occurring throughout Scripture. It’s interesting, for instance,
how frequently in Scripture individuals manage to convince one
another that a situation is hopeless even though God sees it in
a very different light. The spies whom Moses sent to Canaan are
a classic example of how this negative “groupthink” occurs (Num
13). Even though God had promised that Israel would conquer
Canaan (Num 13:1), ten of the twelve spies sent to investigate
the land concluded that the obstacles to success were simply too
great. We sense that these men, as brilliant as they were, used
their intelligence to convince each other that the mission would
be too difficult for them. In effect they talked themselves out
of faith.
A similar example is the occasion when Jesus’ disciples were
in a boat with him, desperately concerned about where their next
meal was coming from. Mark notes that they discussed the fact
that they had no bread, and Jesus then upbraided them for their
lack of faith (Mk 8:16-21). What is striking is that the
disciples actually did have a loaf of bread with them (v. 14);
even more astounding is that they had helped Jesus feed a crowd
of thousands with only a few loaves and fish earlier that same
day (Mk 8:1-9). They failed, though, to notice the one loaf they
had in the boat--let alone to consider what the power of Jesus
could do to multiply it. Their discussion only served to
strengthen their pessimism about his capacity to meet their
needs.
While examples like these abound in Scripture, there are many
positive ones as well, where one person’s optimism inspires
another’s. One of my favorites is the story of Lamech and Noah.
Genesis records only one significant fact about Lamech, Noah’s
father: after Noah’s birth, he declared, “[Noah] will comfort us
in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground
the LORD has cursed” (Gen
5:29 NIV). Since this is the one notable detail the Holy Spirit
chose to record about Lamech, I assume it describes his
prevailing attitude toward his son. Lamech apparently had an
exceptionally high level of confidence in Noah’s integrity and
creative ability. He undoubtedly was one who constantly told his
son, “You can do it!”
Whatever else we conclude about Noah, he was clearly a
skilled problem solver. His creative ingenuity was remarkable.
The logistical complexities of building the ark and organizing
its mission would have been monumental. While God gave Noah many
instructions, there is no evidence that he directly revealed all
the details of the project to him. It appears, rather, that he
left Noah with many problems to resolve on his own. Yet all of
the evidence suggests that he successfully tackled each of these
challenges and never concluded that any was too difficult.
Noah certainly benefited from his father’s high expectations
of him. Lamech’s conviction that his son would make a difference
helped give Noah the courage to tackle problems which most would
have thought insurmountable.
Positive Influences
The lesson is clear: we desperately need the influence of
optimistic people, and those with strong, contagious faith, in
our lives. In my own life there have been so many instances,
like the two I’ve mentioned, where a single individual inspired
me to think hopefully about a situation which I thought was at a
dead end. While that person may not have given me a solution to
my problem, he or she inspired enough optimism that I was able
to open my eyes and see a solution that in some cases was only
too obvious.
We need to accept how vastly influential the power of
suggestion is in our lives. As Christian psychiatrist Paul
Tournier points out in his classic
The Person Reborn, our suggestibility is not in itself a
weakness but is part of the humanity God has put within us. Our
need, Tournier notes, is not to avoid situations which affect
our suggestible nature, but to place ourselves in those where
the most redemptive “suggestions” occur. This is a vital point
to keep in mind as we plan our activities with people.*
Each of us will benefit greatly from having at least one
friend who is a supreme optimist, who believes the best for us
and has a special knack for encouraging us when our world looks
bleak. It helps especially if this person has strong faith in
Christ, which rubs off on us as well. If we don’t have such a
friendship, we should pray earnestly that Christ will provide
it, and we should take what steps we can to find it. If we have
the good fortune to gain such a friend, we should give high
priority to spending time with this person and benefiting from
his or her positive outlook.
In addition, we should take advantage of the affirmation that
comes through more indirect means, such as books, articles,
teachers, preachers and media personalities.
Last, but far from least, we need to structure our daily
devotional time in a way that allows Christ to breathe his
optimism and encouragement into our life. Yes, we need to study
the whole of Scripture and focus on both the love and justice of
God. Yet we should give emphasis to the triumphant themes of
Scripture: God’s grace, which is greater than our sin; his
adequacy, which is more powerful than our inadequacy; his
guidance, which overrules our confusion and waywardness. It
helps especially to spend time in silent reflection, dwelling on
God’s goodness and recounting his blessings in our life. It is
worth letting more busy aspects of our quiet time go in order
for this to happen.
Each of us needs a heavy and frequent dose of optimism.
Keeping our hearts cheerful and hopeful is not just good stress
management but foundational to faith in Christ. I’m certain it’s
a vital part of the good soil which Christ speaks of in the
parable of the sower, which gives harvest to the seed of faith
(Mt 13:3-9).
We must simply keep in mind the role others play in keeping
the soil fertile. Here the truth of the ancient adage always
applies: “Choose your friends wisely.”
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