PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND                            

March 30, 2025

OUR ATTITUDE

From June of 1970 until August of 1974, I was the pastor of the Westville United Methodist Church.  A few of the members went to Valparaiso for their medical needs.  Others went to Michigan City.  However, by far most members went to LaPorte for their medical care.  There were two small hospitals in the town: Pine Lake and Holy Family.  Because both of them were much in need of repairs, a new much bigger hospital was built and opened in 1972.

Two members of the church in Westville were patients at Pine Lake hospital in the same room, with essentially the same staff, and had the same operation.  This was a time when people stayed longer in the hospital.  One lady was released after two weeks and the other lady after a month.

Attitude was the only difference I could detect that might account for the drastic difference in the length of the ladies’ stay.  The first lady had a very positive attitude.  She was always complimenting about the staff and the care she was receiving.  The second lady had a very negative attitude.  When I would visit with her, she complained about everything.  Nothing seemed to satisfy her.

Four ingredients for good health are exercise, diet, good medical care, and a positive attitude.  A bad outlook on life can be the cause of a number of illnesses and can make others worse. A book that was a must reading when I was growing up was The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.  Gibran says about attitude: “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

Paul’s description of the abundant life in Philippians is a good description of the first lady in the hospital. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9).”

In his letter to the Romans Paul suggests that we can change our lives by renewing our minds.  “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2).”  Making a conscious choice to focus on what is positive rather than what is negative can have a dramatic effect on our experience of the world and our mental, emotional, and physical health.

Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters put the matter this way in the 1940’s: “You’ve got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive, E-lim-i-nate the negative, latch on to the affirmative.  Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.  You’ve got to spread joy up the maximum.  Bring gloom down to the minimum. Have faith, or pandemonium liable to walk upon the scene. To illustrate His last remark, Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark.  What did they do just when everything looked so dark?  Man, they said we better ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don’t mess with Mr. In-Between. No, do not mess with Mr. In-Between!  Do you hear me.”

(Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)