Scripture Text: 2 Kings 4:15-37
Memory Verse: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8
Lesson Aim: To show believers the benefits of cultivating a positive mental attitude.
Key Points - God has the ultimate positive mental attitude. - When Adam sinned, man’s relationship with God and his nature moved from being positive to negative. - Our thought patterns and attitudes, emotions and habits, desires and appetites have to be constantly converted from negative to positive.
By this time we are all convinced that thoughts matter. There are two forces in the world: positive and negative. When something is positive, it is good, it affirms. Negative things are the opposite. For example, God is positive, the devil is negative. Holiness is positive, sin is negative. Faith is positive, fear is negative. Praise is positive, complaining, murmuring and faultfinding are negative. It naturally follows that our thinking can be either positive or negative.
When we speak of having a positive mental attitude, we refer to having a general mental posture that looks for the good, the possibilities, the opportunities that exist beyond what is obvious to the senses. Cultivating such a mental posture does not come easy. God has the ultimate positive mental attitude. He never ends anything negative. When God created Adam, He created him as a perfect specimen of humanity. During the creation process, God saw that everything was very good (Genesis 1:31). He rested on the Sabbath and that was good, too!
Adam had the most positive environment ever known to man. He was in the Kingdom of God. He had a perfect body, a perfect mind, a perfect wife, a perfect garden to live in, a perfect relationship and communion with the Creator. Then he sinned and things changed. Man’s relationship with God went from positive to negative. Human nature moved from being positive to negative. Even the earth became negative. From that time on, everything in life has to be converted from negative to positive. We are born with a high capacity for negative mental attitude because we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Because our nature is so negative and conditioned to failure and subject to sin, we must be converted in all areas of our lives. Our thought patterns and attitudes, habits and emotions, desires and appetites have to be constantly converted.
If you think negatively, you will be negative. Two individuals looking at the same thing will see differently based on whether they have a positive mental attitude or a negative mental attitude. The 12 spies are a great example. All 12 spies saw the same things through their physical eyes, yet 10 had a negative perspective while only Joshua and Caleb had a positive viewpoint.
The essence of having a positive mental attitude can be found in one word – BELIEVE. Faith is an integral part of our converting from the negative to positive because without faith it is impossible to please God. You cannot have a positive mental attitude without faith and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Through our faith in Jesus Christ, the second Adam, it is possible for us to convert from a negative mental attitude to a positive mental attitude.
Questions and Discussion
- What do these Scriptures say about God’s attitude? Genesis 1:31; Jeremiah 29:11-13; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 4:8-10.
- Contrast the disposition of Joseph and the Shunammite woman with, say, Job or Jonah. Chapters 37, 39-45 of Genesis; 2 Kings 4:15-37; Job 3; Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1-6, 10; 4:1-11.
- What can we learn from Israel’s example, especially that of the 12 spies? Numbers 13:25-33; 14:1-11.
- Paul gives us some tips on developing a positive attitude in Philippians 4:8 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18. What are they?
- What part do hope and expectation play in our cultivating either a positive or negative mental attitude? Psalm 42:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Philippians 1:20-21; Romans 8:35-39.
- What other factors impact our mental attitude? Psalm 1:1; Galatians 5:16, 22-25; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; 1 Corinthians 15:33.