Photo credit: Rick White
This short TED talk sheds some light on a phenomena called negativity bias. Negativity bias refers to “the tendency for humans to pay more attention or give more weight to negative experiences over positive ones.”
Alison Ledgerwood, professor of psychology at UC Davis, argues that once you view things in a negative light, it takes work to get unstuck.
As I watched this video, my mind was instantly cast toward the dangers of ingratitude and discouragement in ministry. Or to put it positively, Ledgerwood’s talk underscored the importance of expressing gratitude and training our mind to dwell upon the good things God has done (Philippians 4:8).
Read MoreWhen the Roman general Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal and conquered Carthage during the Punic Wars, it is said that he sowed salt into the fields so nothing would ever grow again. I’ve encountered discouraged Christian workers and leaders who view serving Christ as similar to cultivating a Carthaginian field.
Under these conditions, we may feel tempted to bend our theological emphasis to fit our discouragement. Often, we couch our discouragement with spiritual sounding statements such as, ‘We’re just too “results focused” or “fruit centered.”’ How do comments like this fit with some of Jesus’ statements in the Gospels?
Read MoreAfter nearly twenty years of following God, I still find myself returning to books and studies that gave shape to my walk with God. As a fairly young Christian, my men’s small group spent an entire night unpacking these short statements from William R. Newell’s commentary Romans Verse-by-Verse.[1] We spent nearly two hours evaluating each of these pregnant statements to determine if agreed with them. As a nineteen year old, fresh out jail, most of the discussion flew over my head. However, what little I absorbed made a lasting impact on my walk. Periodically, I stumble upon these statements as I read foundational books with young Christian believers. Each time, I find a growing level of agreement with each of these statements.
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