Did you know that all words are not created equal?? That shouldn't surprise us. The English language has a way of doing things oddly... ask anyone who has learned English as a second language. It is filled with inconsistencies and special cases.
I am leading a workshop on "The Positive in God" and find to do so I have to invent a word. There is no word for the basic on-goings of a positive personality or outlook. We have a word for the negative and it is simply "negativity" ... it even gets dictionary space.
"Positivity" is another matter entirely. The word isn't listed in the dictionary. It even sounds odd to our ears. It just starts the whole debate: can you really invent words?
But I would argue this is no invention. You simply apply the same rules of the English language to the word Postive that you do to the word Negative. Why not? And why hasn't it been done before?
I think the word doesn't exist because it would get so little use. We live in a culture filled with negatives. We live in a news world that features tragedy because people enjoy watching the "tough thing" happen to somebody else. Our television watching includes lots of drama and crime. Even the situation comedy turns on a misfortunate turn of events.
I think there is a way to look at God, and God's world, that is not all gloom and doom. I think there is a way to look at God as a creator who celebrates giraffes and elephants and parrots. That is a Creator with a sense of humor and a sense of wonder. A negative God would have been content to stop at crows!
I don't expect to run into any giraffes today, even though I may walk into a room with a couple of elephants in it (that happens a lot in parish ministry). But I think God would want me looking for the giraffes even as I navigate the elephants.
I think God enjoys a smile. Since it takes fewer muscles to smile than frown, I have to bet that was God's subtle vote for smiles. I think that speaks of positivity.
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