The Spirit of Pollyanna

It's not often I read something scary in the Bible. A little history, a little songwriting, a lot of teaching and theology, some awesome records of the Son of God interacting with man. But something really rocked me today. Did you know that I have the power to put out the Spirit's fire! Imagine, little ol' me; a vapor in the wind, a mist, a blade of grass - here today and gone tomorrow. Guess what, so do you. We can actually extinguish the third person of the Trinity, God, the Spirit. Whoa. Don't believe me? Check out Thessalonians 5:19. There it is, see? Now, instead of talking about how we do that, let's look at why we shouldn't. As Paul continues his thought, he says, "Test everything. Hold onto the good."

I read the news online instead of watching it on t.v. I especially pay attention to the "most read" section. What people are focusing on is almost as interesting as the news itself. One thing I've noticed - bad news is like a magnet for the attention. Finding a positive story is tough, I know, but why do you think? It's because no one reads them (well, very few). Take a look over the most read section and it's no wonder that fear dominates our society. People are afraid of the economy, the war (pick one), the weather. We're afraid of relationships failing because Hollywood's do (If those perfect people can't make it work - who can?). Why is it we can't focus on the good things? Is it because the very Spirit of good isn't getting enough oxygen?

We dare not put out the Spirit's fire because it is the one thing that turns our heart to the good in life. It's the Spirit that kindles that Pollyanna attitude and plays the "glad game". It's the Spirit that looks beyond today and our circumstances and sees tomorrow and it's possibilities. So let's fan the flame as Paul encourages Timothy and make some good news of our own - just don't expect to read it online.