The War College is all about this war. We're looking to train soldiers for battle. There are many fronts where battle takes place and all those fronts make up the great war of the spiritual realm. Very early in the War College Chicago Campus' life we've come against an enemy attack. The war is on.
We, here at the War College Chicago have officially declared war on negativity. Yeah, that's right. Negativity.
I have had a personal battle with negativity my whole life. It's everywhere in our culture and it's not right. There's nothing right about it. There's never a time where it's okay to be negative about things. Is there? Correct me if I'm wrong please. Before you do though, imagine a world free of negativity. Heck, imagine a church free of negativity. Imagine if we didn't complain about things every week after the service. Imagine if we didn't gossip about people. Imagine if we didn't pass our thoughts on a person "just so they know what they're in for". Imagine if we didn't lace everything we say and do with just a little bit of negativity.
What would we do? We'd be positive!
Don't call me cheesy (that's negative). Call me an idealist. Call me someone that believes that this world can be better than it is. Call me someone who believes that the church is meant for so much more that bickering over lunch after the service. Call me someone that has pulled out my sword, strapped on my shield, and told negativity to turn back and go tell it's master that it doesn't have authority in God's church.
How am I doing this?
1. I've decided to carry an attitude of warfare. Negativity is my enemy and I will treat it as such. I will not brush negativity off as something that just happens, or something that's just human nature. When I see negativity I will unsheathe my sword and fight.
2. I have made sure that people that I'm close to know that I'm at war with negativity. I warn them that if I hear negativity I will challenge it. I let them know that I'm not fighting them, I'm fighting negativity. If they say something negative I will ask them to counter it with something positive. But, I only do this with people that understand. If they don't understand I simply pray against it when it rears it's ugly head. That said, there are very few people that I spend any significant amount of time with that don't know that I'm at war. They all expect it.
3. I pray about it every day. I pray that God keeps negativity far from me. I pray that God equips me for the battle. I pray that God heightens my awareness of it.
4. I equip myself with the Word at all times. It's my sword and negativity knows that it's sharp. The Bible doesn't talk much about negativity. It talks about being positive. I've noticed this in my study. So, I have to fight it the same way. I don't want to talk about negativity. Instead, I want to talk about the good things. I want to focus on things that are good and pure. Like the Bible, I don't give negativity the time of day.
5. I fast for this warfare. Every Friday the War College Chicago and Mount Greenwood Corps people fast. While fasting we have prayer focuses. Mine has been the battle at hand.
6. I spread the word and ask for help in this battle. I can't do it alone. I need people to come help. The more people that join this fight the more ground we take for the Kingdom. We're an army after all. Let's claim that and push back negativity with all the positivity we can muster.
Come join the battle.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Nathan Holt
