Bible Reading: John 20:24-31
Key Verse: Verse 25 – “The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Key Words: I will not believe
If you would look up the word pessimist, I believe out beside the word you would find a picture of old Thomas. We read in John 11:16, “Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.” We read in John 20:25b, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Old Thomas, the pessimist!
I once heard about a farmer who was continually optimistic, seldom discouraged or blue. He had a neighbor who was just the opposite. Grim and gloomy, he faced each new morning with a heavy sigh.
The happy, optimistic farmer would see the sun coming up and shout over the roar of the tractor, “Look at the beautiful sun and clear sky!” And with a frown, the negative neighbor would reply, “Yeah–it’ll probably scorch the crops.”
When clouds would gather and much-needed rain would start to fall, our positive friend would smile across the fence, “Ain’t this great–God is giving our corn a drink today!” Again, the same negative response, “Uh huh, but if it doesn’t stop ‘fore long, it’ll flood and wash everything away.”
One day the optimist decided to put his pessimistic neighbor to the maximum test. He bought the smartest, most expensive bird dog he could find. He trained him to do things no other dog on earth could do–impossible feats that would surely astonish anyone.
He invited the pessimist to go duck hunting with him. They sat in the boat, hidden in the duck blind. In came the ducks. Both men fired and several ducks fell into the water. “Go get ‘em!” ordered the owner with a gleam in his eye. The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, and picked up the birds one by one. “Well, what do you think of that?” Unsmiling, the pessimist answered, “He can’t swim, can he?”
The optimist sees a silver lining behind every cloud. But the pessimist sees a cloud behind every silver lining. Which are you? I am convinced a balance of both is needed to stay level-headed. Let your moderation be known to all men.
What to do:
✞ The choice is yours: optimist or pessimist?
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