My default setting is to discover what is wrong with the world. Whenever I preach, I look for ways to improve. Whenever I write, I continually edit and change. As I walk through my Church building, I look for ways to better use our facility.

The trouble is when we carry that way of thinking over into every area of life. Suddenly, all we see is what is wrong and how things could be improved. We can become jaded and cynical instead of the joy-filled person that God wants us to be.

I once heard a man say that he made a simple rule with his children. They had to say five positive things before they could say one negative. Before they could complain about a person at school, they had to list five positive characteristics. Before they could criticize a meal, they had to list five things they liked about it.

His goal was to get his children to move from thinking about what is wrong with the world to what is right. There are far more positive things going on around us than we notice. Maybe it is time for you to take a look.