The world is a negative place. Just turn on the nightly news if you doubt it. I very rarely tune into the news because of this. You can protect yourself from all the gloominess but it takes some work. If you aren’t proactive, it’s easy to be swept away in the tidal wave of negativity around you. Jack Nicholson said, “In my last year of school, I was voted Class Optimist and Class Pessimist. Looking back, I realize I was only half right ¹. No matter which half are you, you can grow. You can be an up person in a down world.

Proverbs 4:7 (KJV)
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Proverbs 4:7 (NLT)
Getting wisdom is the most important think you can do. And whatever else you do, get good judgment.

• A good principle to add to your arsenal of understanding is this thought, “What you’re not up on you’re down on.”
• You’ll notice this principle at work as you talk to different people. What does it mean?
• Do you ever notice people who don’t know anything about computers have a tendency to speak negatively about them? They will talk about the past and the good old days when there were no computers. What you’re not up on your down on.
• People who are single are down on marriage.
• People who are rich are down on people who are poor.
• People who are in one station in life are down on people who are in another station.
• It’s very easy to do because we always assume that our situation is the right one.
• If you want to get where you are going, you’re going to have to spend your energy getting ‘UP’ on things instead of wasting your energy being ‘DOWN’ on things.
• Remember, it doesn’t take much talent to be critical.
• Critics don’t count. Foolish folks will always condemn the wise. That’s what makes them foolish in the first place.

ILLUSTRATION: Critics and the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was built and directed by George Washington Goethals. In the midst of all the difficulty with the land and the climate, George had to endure countless criticisms from people back home. These people predicted that he would never get the canal built. You see these people were not up on canal building. Because they were not up on it, they were down on it. But George in the midst of all the comments, just kept on building the canal. One of his co-workers said, ‘Aren’t you going to answer your critics?’ “In time,” Goethals replied. “How?” The great engineer smiled. “With the canal.” he replied.

How to Be an ‘UP’ Person in a ‘DOWN’ World

Make a Commitment to be a Life-long Learner

• Get an education
• A mind is a terrible thing to waste
  • If you’re not up on computers, take a class.
  • If you’re not up on marriage, read some books.
• The same is true concerning spiritual life. Your heart is a terrible thing to waste.
• The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing.

If what you learned yesterday still seems like a lot of knowledge to you, it’s because you haven’t learned enough new today.

ILLUSTRATION: Sixty Years in Ministry
I heard a minister, who after 60 years in the ministry, state he felt he didn’t know much. Every time he preached Bible lesson, he learned something new that he didn’t know before.

[Tweet “The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing.”]

• Could it be that you think that you know it all already?
• Husbands and wives, do you know everything about marriage? Are you an authority at communication, are you totally UP on finances, are you an expert at child rearing, are you the perfect grand parenting skills? Are you an authority on walking in love with each other? If not, make a commitment to be a lifelong learner.
• What about single people? What can you learn? What can you be UP on?
• Singles, fall into 5 categories.

1. Never been married.
   • Some issues they face
     • Adjusting their sexual values. Eighty percent of ‘never married category have had sex.
     • Career
     • Income
     • Self-fulfillment.
     • Personal happiness
     • Painful prospect of never being married and having children.
2. Never married with children
   • Some issues they face
     • Single parenting skills
     • Grief
     • Economic hardships
     • Inadequate housing
3. Divorced
   • Some issues they face
     • Divorce recovery
     • Remarriage. Includes dealing with the reasons why your previous marriage was not successful. Are you destined to repeat history?
     • Acquiring step-children family skills. You may need these if you decide to remarry.
     • Single parenting skills
     • Budgeting and managing finances
4. Separated
   • Some issues they face
     • Healthy relationship education
     • Temporary crisis management; housing, financial aid, counseling.
     • Having a split identity; married and yet single
5. Widowed
   • Some issues they face
     • Grief recovery
     • Fellowship opportunities. Some bury themselves in their schedule but want to make new friends.
     • Remarriage preparation
     • Aging issues. You can add zest and satisfaction to your later years if you learn how the art of aging successfully.

• Are you learning anything in these areas or are you just enduring life. Do you think your current situation is your lot?
• Understanding in these areas doesn’t come overnight.
• Don’t just chose to exist in life. Be an UP person.

Read Beyond Your Expertise

ILLUSTRATION: Reading Your Bible
In the average American home, the TV is on approximately 2100 hours per year. The average time reading books is only 5 hours per year. The Bible is a book.

• Most people read and study in areas they already know and excel in. Step out of your comfort zone. What you don’t like may be just the thing you need.
  • Don’t like Bible Prophecy? Maybe it’s what you need?
  • Not a great fan of the Old Testament. Maybe it’s what you need.
• Get out of the box. “
  

  The best cure for a sluggish mind is to disturb it’s routine. – William Danforth

• Only nuts stay in their shell.
• Most inventions registered in the U.S. Patent Office can be attributed to average people who felt dissatisfied with how something was done and decided to do something about it. They decided to get out of the box.
• The more you expose yourself to fresh ideas, the more UP you become. It happens through people you meet, books you read, and places you go.
• Find people who make you think.
  • I like to read teaching books on the Bible. I like to read those because they make me think. They make me dig. When I read something I didn’t know, I dig to see if it’s true. Normally, along the way, I find all kinds of great spiritual truths I didn’t know.
• Find someone who knows what you want to know and hang out with them.

Look at The World as a Classroom

• You can learn about the invisible things of God from the world around you.

Romans 1:20 (KJV)
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Romans 1:20 (NLT)
20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature…

• If I isolate myself from what’s going on around me, I will miss things about God.
• Work at learning not justifying what you already know.
• What is your attitude about learning, growing, and developing yourself?
• The old saying is true. Your attitude will determine your altitude.
• You might think ideas only come to geniuses. It’s not true. Ideas come to people with an expectant attitude.

ILLUSTRATION: Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison, one of the world’s great inventors, discovered some of his best inventions after other ideas went wrong. He found another use for what didn’t work. That is exactly how the phonograph was invented.

• Do I choose to take the opportunities to learn from all areas?
• Do you learn from other people’s mistakes?
• You can learn something from anybody at any time.
  • One day a Jehovah Witness pointed out a word to me in a Bible verse. I hadn’t noticed the word in just that way before. I learned something. Not what he was trying to prove, but what the Spirit quickened to me through the encounter.
• Do you remember the story of Balaam and how he learned from a donkey? You can read it here in Numbers 22:22–35.
• If Balaam can learn from a donkey, there is hope for you and me.

Call to Action

If you want to be an UP person; be a lifelong learner; read beyond your expertise; get out of the box; find people who make you think; and look at the world like a classroom.

It is not the critic that counts, not the man that point soul how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat. – Teddy Roosevelt

Question: What steps did you take, to become more of an UP person? Please leave your comments in the comments section below?

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