Negative vs. Positve

Psychology Today reports that our brains have a "Negative Bias" that causes us to weight negative experiences more than positive. "Your brain is simply built with a greater sensitivity to unpleasant news. The bias is so automatic that it can be detected at the earliest stage of the brain's information processing."

What this means is that we need approximately five positive experiences to balance one negative experience. As we preach and teach it can be tempting to be negative, because we get a reaction. Hell-fire and brimstone preaching works . . . to a point. We can push the negative buttons and get a quick response, but it's not sustainable.

We need to balance our preaching and teaching with about five positives to every negative. If you need to confront sin in your church, then do it, but don't forget to call out the good things your church is doing as well. I have to confess, I needed to hear this a long time ago. I'm sorry for my over emphasis on negativity.