Why We Should Make Time For 'Negative' People

I've been procrastinating quite a bit lately (hey, I'm doing it right now). Which means that I have spent hours wasting my life on facebook. I'm not proud..

 
One thing that I've noticed is a decided upsurge in positivity and inspiration. 

I'm glad. People are struggling. People aren't achieving anything. Lives are being wasted (see above). We all need a bit of inspiration. 

What I'm not loving is all of the 

'Don't hang around negative people'

'Don't be around people who don't lift you up and make you feel good about yourself'

'Don't waste your time on people who aren't putting in the effort with you/ contacting you'

style of quotes that I'm seeing.

These are great quotes, and I think that they have a time and place. But they are also rather flawed. 

Here's why-

Everyone needs a friend. Enough said. No? Okay, let's keep going.

(For my fellow Christian readers) Jesus hung around people who were going no-where, were not positive, and were living what-we-would-consider disgusting lives. As his disciples, we want to be like him. Ergo, we should hang around people who are struggling, who are negative, and who might not have the strength to contact us as often as we feel like they should.

I want to quickly add a disclaimer here- if you have a 'friend' who puts you down, makes you feel worthless and horrible, and generally doesn't care about you, then you can certainly do better than them. Side note- if you struggle with your own self-worth issues, then don't surround yourself with people like this.You need positive, uplifting friends.

However, if self-worth and feeling loved and valuable isn't so much an issue for you, then you should be alright. Naturally, I would advise you to be wise in whom you choose to spend time with. But please don't be selfish with whom you choose to spend your time. Because you're not called to associate only with people that you like. You are called to shine Christ's love in a broken, negative, and struggling world.

If the reason that they are struggling is deeper than just being a horrible person (and it usually is), then perhaps you can be the person who hangs around long enough to dig through the gross and get to the gold. 

Every person has value.
Every person needs a helping hand.
Every person struggles sometimes.

Be the kind of person who is willing to put their own feelings aside in order to make someone else feel loved and valued. Just because you don't feel warm and fuzzy when, or after, you see them, doesn't mean that they don't need your positive input and love.  

Basically, hang around people who don't fill your life with positivity and show them Jesus.

Why Christians Should Not Practice Affirmations

My church is a big fan of affirmations. When I first heard them I decided that they were lame and useless. So, I never said them. Then, as I grew older, I started to wonder why these affirmations made me uncomfortable. They kind of reminded me of spells and witchcraft.

I've just come back from a conference designed to help us experience greater freedom and break generational bondage. I've been avoiding going for years, but God finally told me to go. So, I did. We prayed through things and broke off ties. All was well. And then affirmations came up. Apparently, in order to keep living in the freedom that we've gained from this weekend, we need to be saying our affirmations. The suggestion is that we do this 3 times a day for 40 days. I want to paint a fair picture, though.  They also suggested that to keep growing in God we keep spending time with him, attending church, etc.. That's good. My issue here is that instead of meditating on the Word of God and praying to continue to affirm the fact that I am free of whatever bondage I supposedly had, I am supposed to repeat a paragraph of positive self-focused words about my new-found freedom. I feel like I'm getting snarky, because I'm a bit passionate and frustrated, so let's stop with the story and move to some content.

Let's jump into this. Why (I believe that) Christians Should Not Practice Affirmations.

Happy New Year!

Well it's that time of year again. Both the beginning and the end. A time of hope and a time of hopelessness. 

At this time, people stop to reflect on the year that has passed and the year that will come. For many, it is a time of sorrow as they recall the loved ones that they have lost and the dreams and plans that are still yet to be fulfilled. 

A new year can be a time of great joy as we prepare for the coming months and plan our health and lifestyle down to an often unattainable tee. 

As with everyone else, I too reflect at this time of year as I wonder what this year will bring and recall the triumphs and tears of the year before. 

Speaking of recalling (and before this post gets too serious, I would like to share a memory with all of you).