It’s an old preacher’s story that you may have heard many times before, but it bears repeating, especially in the times in which we are living.
It’s the turn of the last century and the shoe company makes a decision to open up a new market. This is well before Adidas and Nike. So it sends two salesmen to the North African country of Morocco. After a week both salesmen send a telegram home. The first reads:
“Please make arrangements for my safe passage home. No one wears shoes here.”
The other telegram says, “Please send all the shoes you can. No one wears shoes
here!!!”
The more I’m around Christians these days, the more
pervasive I find the first salesman. Or to put it in terms Robert Kennedy could
understand:
“Most people see things as they
are, and ask why? But almost no one dreams of things that never were, and ask
why not?”
And there’s a simple reason for that. Negativity is easy. It
comes normally. It’s far more widespread than Coronavirus. It infects the minds
and the hearts of men and women from their conception. It’s then nurtured through a
lifetime of fearmongering. It surrounds us to the point that you find people
trying to outdo one another for the honor of being the dourest. It’s sick and
it’s repugnant to God.
Negativism is easy to come by. It’s born into us. It’s bred
into us. Being negative takes no thought at all, it’s simply the way of the
world. That’s why both the world and the church are filled with negative
Nellies.
Oh we may try to mask it with words like, “realism” and “thoughtfulness,”
but the truth is negativity takes no thought and is the laziest thing in the
world. Anybody can do it. Rodney Dangerfield made a career of it.
Being positive takes work. That’s why one of the Holy Spirit’s
primary jobs is to produce positive people. If you doubt that just take a look
at Sunday’s text. Here in Peter’s final words of his first letter, there is
supernatural positivity all over them.
This week I came across six documented health benefits from positive
thinking:
·
Increased life span
·
Lower rates of depression
·
Lower levels of distress
·
Greater resistance to the common cold
·
Better psychological and physical well-being
·
Better cardiovascular health
Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the
difficulty with every opportunity, the optimist sees the opportunity in every
difficulty.” And no one in the New Testament epitomizes positivity more than a
man named Joseph of Cyrus. But we don’t know him by that name. We know him as
Barnabas. His name means, “Son of Encouragement”. But in the Greek New Testament his
name is Paraklesis. It’s a name that’s
very close to another name. It’s the name John uses for the Holy Spirit – “Parakletos". The word can be divided
into two parts: “Para”, meaning, “alongside
of", and “kletos”, meaning, “called
one”. Thus, parakletos means, “one
who is called alongside another to plead their case.” That’s what the Holy
Spirit does. That’s what Barnabas did. That’s what every believer is called to
do. That’s why one of the telltale signs that the Holy Spirit is getting His way
with us is indomitable optimism. Why not? Jesus has paid it all!
Luther said it, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would
go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” Norman Cousins said, “Optimism
doesn’t wait on facts. It deals with prospects.” And that’s exactly how we see
Peter closing this letter. It’s a primer in positivity. And that’s why we didn’t
want to pass it over without examining it with some care.
In preparation for Sunday’s message entitled: “The Power of
Positive People”, you may wish to consider the following:
1. Where does Silvanus (Latin name for Silas) first show up in
Scripture?
2. Why does Peter regard him as a “faithful brother”?
3. Why is it important for Peter to describe him this way?
4. What’s been Silas’ role in this letter?
5. How can Peter summarize all that he’s said in this letter
as, “the true grace of God”?
6. What attacks against the true grace of God has Peter
addressed in this letter?
7. Who is he referring to in verse 13 as, “She who is at
Babylon”?
8. Who is the Mark he is referring to at the end of verse 13?
9. How is Mark’s presence with Peter and Silas an illustration
of what he says in verse 14?
10. Have you gained more peace and love as a result of our study
of 1 Peter?
With you as we wrap up 1 Peter this week!
