Lessons for Living

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true . . . if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

I grew up in an era when Norman Vincent Peale was something of a household name in North America. He was a well-known Manhattan pastor who popularized books on “Positive Thinking.” A somewhat controversial figure, he was admired by some and despised by others. I know my late father-in-law loved his books and always kept one on his coffee table.

I recall the comment made by one of our popular professors speaking in chapel during my early years in graduate school when he said, “The theology of Paul is appealing but the theology of Peale is appalling!”

At the time being a rather, I thought, optimistic person myself I wondered why anyone would be opposed to positive thinking?

My goal here is not condemn or condone Mr. Peale, nor any of his advocates or critics but to examine the reality that the way we think and process “truth” is of critical importance. This essay is the first in what I hope will be a series on the subject of positive thinking.

When the apostle Paul writes to the Philippians in the first century he has much to tell them about the positive nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is what I consider to be the foundation of Positive Thinking. The reality is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is in fact, the most positive message in the universe. The Gospel is all about a new relationship with God based on His work in man’s behalf – the restoration of a broken relationship at the Cross and a new resurrected life in the Spirit. What could be more positive than that?

However, just because we acknowledge truth doesn’t mean that we align with it. In order to have a positive outlook on life – which by the way I think is essential for one’s emotional and spiritual health – we must align with the truth.

I married my wife Joyce at the tender age of twenty-one years of age (for both of us) in the little town of Whitehall, Wisconsin in July 1975. We started off our married life with high hopes and a very old and somewhat unreliable car. To get to our wedding I had driven 1200 miles from Texas to Wisconsin. Before returning to Texas we were planning a honeymoon in Niagara Falls. A trip of over 800 miles all the way over in western, New York  – all by car!  Needless to say, our resources and our car were being tested from the outset of our married life.

A couple of days into our trip across the Midwest a couple of warning signs, or “truths” if you will came crashing down on my world of positive thinking. After all, I was a newly married man on his honeymoon!

First, I noticed that a new glitch arose with the car. A red light on the dashboard that I had never noticed before, started flashing on and then going off after a few seconds.  It seemed to be the brake light but I tended to ignore it because it never stayed on and the brakes didn’t “seem” to be faulty.

About the third day into our trip we woke up in Dearborn, Michigan with plans to travel on and arrive in Niagara Falls later in the afternoon. To our surprise the phone rang in the motel where we were staying and my mother was on the other end. She was calling from Texas to “inform” me that I had “possibly” been exposed to Hepatitis (don’t ask me how).

Our agenda then quickly shifted. The recommendation was that I should find a doctor ASAP and have him administer a gamma globulin injection as a precaution. I wasn’t too keen on the plan because I wasn’t convinced I was in any danger, I didn’t have time for this and unfortunately, I was well acquainted with the agony of these injections from my childhood bout with Rheumatic Fever.

That morning, without realizing it I was faced with several realities which couldn’t be handled with “positive thinking” alone. We wanted to reach our destination that day at Niagara Falls, but what we really needed was a mechanic and possibly a doctor as well.

We ended up finding a doctor to administer the shot then in haste headed off to our destination in a car with faulty brakes. It wasn’t until we crossed into Canada that we decided to switch drivers. Along a seemingly deserted road in south central Canada my lovely new bride slammed on the brakes for a light that turned red ahead of us. We rear-ended  the car in front of us because my priorities and my positive thinking didn’t allow for fixing a leaky brake line.

I suppose I have to keep learning what Henry Cloud explains so well in his books, that “The truth is always your friend.” We may not like some of the medical reports and warning lights in life, but most often they are there to alert us of dangers and pitfalls that will find us along life’s way.

My failure to align with the truth that my brakes were failing on my honeymoon was one of the harsh realities of my early married life. I now invest a lot more of my resources in car safety and I have no desire to put my family members at risk. The hepatitis scare was bogus but the red light and mushy brakes were revealing something that was true. It’s sometimes hard to read the signs. I guess that’s why they use red for the ones that are important.

I believe positive thinking is possible and even necessary. Perhaps the first step is to take a look at reality even though we may not like what we see. Seeing reality for what it is and taking appropriate action is to acknowledge that indeed truth is our friend. Maybe it’s that positive thinking should lead to appropriate action – even though it may not be very convenient.