Year after year I have longed to see a genuine change of heart for the people of our nation.  The bitter reality is that change has in fact taken place among many hearts; the deepest hurt is witnessing that change occur only on the periphery of already hardened hearts with increasing severity.  As a result I’ve grown burdened and weary, even “heavy-ladened” which flies in the face of those like me who claim Jesus as their King.

The end result for me personally has been an increase in negativity and major discouragement which is not healthy in its own right. Worst of all is the fact that I’ve been all to glad to share my misery with anyone and everyone who will listen.  In her gentle but equally convicting way my wife Jill reminded me “honey attracts more flies than vinegar.”  Her point was obvious and well-taken.

I also took Paul’s words from Philippians 4:8 to heart as he urges us 

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

But I found I needed to do more than just subdue or stuff my negativity and dwell on more positives.  After sharing my desire to be more proactive against negativity I approached my friend Jim Jackson.  His challenge caught me completely off guard.  It was anything except what I was expecting to hear, but what I so desperately needed to hear.  Listen below to hear as Paul Harvey use to say…“the rest of the story.”