The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4, that we should think about things that are true, honorable and right.

He says to think about things that are pure, lovely and admirable.

Think of things that are worthy of praise, you know, things that bring joy and give God glory in our lives.

You see what we put into our mind determines what&8217;s going to come out in our words and in our actions.

The Bible says, as a man thinks in his heart so is he.

One of my mentors once told me, &8220;Sylvester, if you put junk in, you&8217;ll get junk coming out.&8221; You see we must be very careful, because one could easily entertain a spirit of negativity.

With all the things we deal with and face from a day-to-day stand point, we must be careful first to make the decision not to be negative, secondly choose to give devotion to God. Also, be diligent in living positively, and lastly look to a higher power for direction.

If one were to take look at society today, I believe that we would find a trouble world.

One where two types of people exist.

One of which is the optimist.

An optimistic person is someone who is open, they are positive and these type people are ready to see the best, they look for the good in life.

They say things like, &8220;we can do it!&8221;

&8220;Or I&8217;ll try,&8221; &8220;we&8217;ll get it next time,&8221; &8220;you did a good job!&8221;

And then of course there is the other side, the pessimist.

These people expect the worst.

This type of person struggles with a negative spirit.

They generally have little faith and find it hard to trust.

They specialize in highlighting what they don&8217;t have, or what they can&8217;t do.

The word can&8217;t is a major word in their vocabulary.

This person says, &8220;If it wasn&8217;t for bad luck I wouldn&8217;t have any luck at all,&8221; or &8220;I guess this is my lot in life.&8221;

As a result pessimistic people can never really be all that they can be, because for whatever reason, or circumstance they are bound by a spirit or mindset of negativity.

We must remember that the enemy feeds off, and uses negativity to keep us from enjoying this life we have.

After all Jesus says, &8220;I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly or to the fullest.&8221;

He says put all your cares on me, because I care for you.

One way of looking at negativity is the way my grandmother always said it, &8220;if you can&8217;t say anything good, don&8217;t say anything at all.&8221; Negativity destroys marriages, families, friendships, and all kinds of relationships.

You can say one wrong thing, and boom, that&8217;s it.

The enemy is having a field

day with what you&8217;ve said.

We must remember we have the power.

Proverbs tells us life and deaths are in the power of our tongue.

Then, Revelations 12 says that we overcome the enemy by the blood of the lamb (Jesus Christ) and the words of our testimony.

We can make the decision today that in every area of your life you will give God first place and bring Him glory by choosing to speak life, choosing to be positive.

Instead of getting upset and exploding choose to calm down and speak the truth in love.

I&8217;m not saying live in a fantasy world or la la land, we have real problems and this isn&8217;t always the easiest thing, but choose to be positive.

Choose to give God your total devotion and always remember if you trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don&8217;t lean on your understanding, but you continue to acknowledge Him, he will direct your paths.

Sylvester Mixon Jr. is the Senior Pastor at Unity Christian Center in Calera