The Positivity Problem

“You see the whale as half empty, but I see the whale as half full!” said Khalil in Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.

In this cartoon adaptation of the famous Bible story, Kalili is a half-caterpillar, half-worm who ultimately represents the worm in the Bible that eats the plant that serves as Jonah’s shade (Jonah 4:7). But for the veggies, Khalil is a high-energy, optimistic, motivational tape listening, peppy, upbeat, can-do attitude kind of character. In Arabic, his name means “friend or companion,” and that is exactly what he sets out to be for Jonah.

Throughout the film, he constantly encourages Jonah to be more positive and caring, and to always look at the bright side. But Jonah is trying to do anything but be positive. He wants to stay low and run from the Lord.

In the scene where they are in the belly of the fish, Khalil shares the quote above. When Jonah tells him that he doesn’t know what that means, Kahili finally admits that he doesn’t either – but that he wanted to be positive.

Sometimes, there is little to be positive about. Life gets hard for all of us – no matter who you are. Yet, there are some people, like Khalil, who radiate positivity to the point where, during our struggles, we either feel tempted not to share our issues with them or to be unkind when responding to the positivity.

Now, there is something to be said for those of us who are optimistic. After all, as believers, we know that there is hope and a promise of an eternal, heavenly life. It is easy to understand that everything will be okay in the end.

In fact, the majority of Americans feel optimistic.

Pew Research reported earlier this year that “A majority of adults (58%) say they feel optimistic about their life all or most of the time, while 32% say they feel this way sometimes. One-in-ten say they hardly ever or never feel optimistic.”

While being optimistic refers to looking to the long-term future, some individuals choose to focus solely on positivity to carry out their daily lives without allowing any negativity to interfere. The only problem with this is that such positivity can be harmful to other relationships.

In a 2022 article, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) shared, “Toxic positivity occurs when encouraging statements are expected to minimize or eliminate painful emotions, creating pressure to be unrealistically optimistic without considering the circumstances of the situation.”

The ADAA continued by explaining that this type of thinking and actions can lead to harming relationships due to one party feeling like they cannot be their real self, in dread that their negative emotions will not be met with concern, instead only motivating sayings.

However, there is another way that this type of positivity, or excessive positivity in general, can harm others, and that is when it comes to affirming sins instead of calling them out.

Below are a few examples of how this is happening in our world among both Christians and non-Christians:

A Pew Research study found that “55% of Christians say they favor allowing same-sex couples to marry legally.”
Pew shared that when it comes to abortion, “86% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 71% of Black Protestants, 64% of White non-evangelical Protestants, and 59% of Catholics.”
Meanwhile, 54% of practicing Christians watch pornography, while “18,257,850 adults consume porn daily,” reported Covenant Eyes.

As my grandparents used to say, “You have to call a spade a spade.”

Sin is sin.

No amount of “good energy” or “positive vibes” can change that.

As believers, we must tell the truth in love, even if it hurts.

In Ephesians 4:15-16, Scripture says,

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Yes, we should love others. We should even be joyful for them! But there is no better way to love them than by telling them the truth.

Each day, we live in a fallen world that is growing darker. We should press on towards the goal before us, but we should be willing and ready to lovingly listen and share the truth with those friends or companions that we meet along the way.

Show Comments

Please Note: We moderate all reader comments, usually within 24 hours of posting (longer on weekends). Please limit your comment to 300 words or less and ensure it addresses the content. Comments that contain a link (URL), an inordinate number of words in ALL CAPS, rude remarks directed at the author or other readers, or profanity/vulgarity will not be approved.