Be Positive
BP is not just a petrol company, no! We're using the letters to remind us to be prayerful, and today, to be positive.
There's a verse in Paul's letter to the Philippians which really gets me every time I read it. It says: "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life." (Philippians 2:14-16)
I think that's what BP is for us today - being positive, not complaining and grumbling all the time.
Choosing Your Attitude Despite Circumstances
But this is difficult, because bad news and negativity sells. And so our news channels, our social media, and even our conversations are often negative and critical instead of being positive. But I want to have a positive impact on people. I want to fill my mind with positive things, and be positive in the presence of others.
Neil C. Strait writes this: "One of the privileges we have as humans is to choose our attitude. Viktor Frankl said that 'the last of the human freedoms [is] to choose one's own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way' (Donna Fisher, People Power [Austin, Tex.: Bard and Stephen Publishers, 1995], 207). Frankl should know, for he survived a Nazi concentration camp ordeal by choosing the attitude of hope. Choose to be positive. Do not let negative thoughts and actions rule your life. Positive thoughts and responses may be the survival tactic you need."
Those are wise words. And I have often marvelled at people like Frankl, or Corrie Ten Boom, who survived horrible, awful things in concentration camps, and yet refused to play the victim. I am often perplexed by people who are not victims in any way, insisting on being negative and seeing themselves as victims.
Rising Above the Victim Mentality
Unfortunately, this 'victim mentality' is all over our culture today. But Christ Himself never played the victim! He did get sad and distressed, sure. But He didn't want people to feel sorry for Him. And neither should we.
As Spirit-filled, God-centred people, ours should be the most positive and encouraging mindsets of all people. So next time you drive past a BP, remember: Be positive! You have the power to choose your own attitude. Choose a good one!
