Magnify

Graham Cooke made the statement that we are made to magnify; it is in our DNA. If we are not magnifying God, we will magnify something.

People are rational creatures with complex emotions. The majority of animals simply react to situations, go about peacefully seeking their own welfare, and do what they must to survive. People bring all sorts of feelings to their circumstances, and their reactions are much more complex than survival.

When bad traffic happens, a group of ants would muddle along. They know they must go forward, but they can't because of the bunches of ants around them, so they push and wait. People, however, interpret their traffic. They decide the gods are against them, or they complain about the problem (thus magnifying it). Or they enjoy the time to be in a quiet car, or listen to talk radio or music or some kind of tapes. Because people do not merely react to their circumstances (like ants), they add something to it. Very often, we magnify the problems around us. We magnify the negative.

Ironically, it is tricky to "magnify" the positive in a situation. We all know people with a Pollyanna disposition, but this eventually grows wearisome. You cannot continually put a positive spin on circumstances, because some of them are simply lousy. However, what you can magnify, in any situation, is God. In any situation, if you look to him, you make him BIGGER in those circumstances. You can magnify his goodness, his faithfulness, his presence, his promises...you can magnify his Name.

It has been useful for me, when reacting to situations, to ask, "What am I magnifying?" I thought you might like to think about it, too.