When I was a teenager, there was a woman whom I would come in contact with several times a week. She lived in the neighborhood. Our family discussed the fact that EVERY time we saw her, she was just an absolute ray of sunshine. Never a negative word, never a sad story, and never a frown or furrowed brow. Always happy and content. What glory an attitude like that brings to God? “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5. But not everyone is like that and, in fact, some people are the absolute opposite. They do not glorify God. They even steal the joy of others with their negativity. A person like that is a robber of glory and joy. Robbing God of glory and others of joy.
When constant negativity is a part of the speech and life of a person who doesn’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, that negativity is not uncommon. God is the source of every good and perfect gift. If we have not accepted the most precious of those gifts (a personal relationship with Jesus Christ), it should not surprise us that our life becomes one filled with issues and negativity.
Prior to knowing Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I was the most negative person I have ever known. I honestly believe that I could suck the joy out of a room like one of those giant smoke ejection fans that blow smoke out of a building that experienced a fire. Those fans not only blow the smoke out, but if anyone is in their path, it will knock the wind out of them. They come out in total disarray. I believe that this was the same effect the magnitude of my negativity had on those around me.
People who don’t know Jesus, have no peace, hope, or joy. They do not need us to try and fill their already full cup (filled with negativity) with sunshine. They need to hear that there is hope and there is peace. And they need to hear that there is an opportunity for forgiveness and a relationship with their creator, who designed them wonderfully and for a purpose.
These people may also need a hand. They may need us to just come alongside them and let them lean on us for a minute. They may need us to reach down and pick them up and help them get back on their feet. Sometimes they don’t need to hear anything at all or have us do anything at all. They may just need someone to listen. They may just need to know that we love and care for them.
It could change their lives… their eternal lives.
The difficulty with negativity is when it is in the life of a believer. Because that person is a Robber of Glory and Joy.
Not everything in this life is going to make us smile or want to shout for joy. We will have trials. Jesus told us so (John 16:33). But God has promised us forgiveness, His unending presence, and an eternity with Him. So, when a redeemed person fails to put the things of this world into perspective with the glory that awaits us, they rob God of glory and others of their joy. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18.
There is no hope in the voice of someone who consistently adds negativity to a conversation. And there is no joy in their words. When they consistently turn a conversation into a possible doom and gloom scenario, there is also no Jesus in their speech. And they are a Robber of Glory and Joy.
The scripture talks repeatedly about how our speech is driven by what is in our hearts.
Proverbs 16:23 says that the heart of a wise man guides his mouth and his speech. “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips” Proverbs 16:23.
The scripture also says that what comes out of our mouth is what is in our hearts. “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45.
The scripture warns us to watch our hearts because life flows from it. “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.” Proverbs 4:23-24. But if we are consistently negative, it is not life that is flowing out of our heart and mouth. It is death.
Who will be drawn to the Lord by a believer whose speech consistently lacks hope, joy, and peace? We then leave them to die in their circumstances, separated from God for eternity all because we didn’t seek the things above. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2
By our speech, others will recognize whether the savior or the sin in us. “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Matthew 15:11.
As followers of Jesus Christ, no matter what our earthly circumstances, we can — and should — have joy. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,” James 1:2. We aren’t joyous in our earthly circumstances, but the eternity that awaits us should far outweigh any earthly trial or circumstance we face. And it should cause us to be joyous.
We are told in Romans 12:9 that we are to love genuinely (sincerely) and loath anything evil… striving for what is good. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” That includes our speech and our thoughts. When they are not of things that would bring glory and honor to God, we should abhor them. We should not think nor speak them. By doing so, we become a Robber of Glory and Joy.
Father, we praise You that You are so good! We praise You that we are so incredibly and abundantly blessed. We thank You for our salvation and for the glory that does await us, Father!
Please forgive us, Father, when we are so self-centered that our speech becomes exclusively about us and our circumstances. Forgive us when we lack the ability to see Your goodness, Your beauty, and Your promise in every single circumstance. And Father, forgive us when we become a robber of glory and joy, stealing the honor that You deserve and robbing others of the joy that You would have them filled with. Holy Spirit, convict us and remind us, before those words escape our lips, that our speech should be sweet, loving, and pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Let not a single cross or negative word slip past our lips, Lord! Be glorified!
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would pray the prayer that is outlined on our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/). If you have been overwhelmed by your circumstances and by the issues and trials of this world, you are not alone. We all have been, especially lately. But God wants to lift that burden from you. He wants to fill you with peace, joy, and hope. Please pray that prayer and, once you have, reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know. I’d love to be in prayer for you and help you learn to walk with Jesus.
Luv Ya!
