Enthusiasm

Third Sunday of Lent

On Matthew 6:24-35, Jesus says don't worry about what you eat, drink, wear... seek first the kingdom of God.

• I visited an elderly church member in the hospital, she had a stroke Friday night. She's frail, has typical left-side droop, but she's joyful. I shared today's scripture reading with her. There comes a time when you face that what you eat or drink or wear is not really an issue. How to think, yes. 

Worry can kill, faith can sustain, 

and either way, the quality of one beats the quality of the other.

• Enthusiasm. Possessing God, God within. There's a direction, a vector, an action like a God injection. And what do we get injections for?

Inoculation. Latin inoculare, to graft or implant. Inoculate against something like the flu, in which a strain of flu virus is deliberately injected into the body in a small enough dose that the body tags it, recognizes it, builds defenses against it, so that when you're exposed to it, your body is already ready for it.

Inoculation or vaccination (essentially the same thing, different history) eradicated polio from the world, it was thought.

Inoculation: strengthen body's defense by injection.

Enthusiasm: strengthen a person against the stresses and brokennesses of the world.

• Did you know it takes five positive statements to counteract a negative statement? 

*** Studies conducted by Dr. John Cacioppo of the University of Chicago have shown what he calls "the negativity bias" of the brain. Our brains are actually more sensitive and responsive to unpleasant news. It's like negative input 'weighs more' than positive input.That's why personal insults or criticism hit us harder and stay with us longer. It's why negative ads are more effective than positive ones—political or otherwise.

Not only do we have a built-in partiality toward negative information, but negatives increase disproportionately over positives. It's not a one-to-one ratio. In other words, one positive cannot offset one negative. When you tell your husband, "Thanks for giving the kids a bath, honey," and five minutes later say, "You forgot to take out the trash—again," the negative drowns out the positive.

Our brain needs a higher number of positive entries to counterbalance this built-in negativity bias. And several small, frequent, positive acts pack more punch than one giant-size positive. The size of the positive doesn't count; quantity does. It's strictly a numbers game. ***

• Negativity bias... that's why we need regular doses of a variety of God injections of enthusiasm. Spiritual disciplines, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, study, fellowship, service, communion, worship... part of balanced diet against worry and worldliness.

• Remember that controversial Cheerios commercial (May 2013)? Cheerios is part of balanced diet for good cholesterol. Part of. And don't worry about the mixed marriage or their child. You don't belong in their relationship. (same thing, Kindle commercial February 2013)

Keep near Christ & live in such a way that others are encouraged to do the same, enthusiastic.

Daily position yourself to be positively influenced by God.

And daily position yourself to be a positive influence unto others.

• into prayer of confession, then Hymn 301 Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross

*** stolen from http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2008/september/7.26.html