In Africa it is said that there is a certain fruit called the "taste berry." This berry supposedly can affect one's taste for several hours. Not only is the berry itself sweet, it makes other things seem sweeter when eaten. What a wonderful fruit this must be if it really exists and works that well.

In human personality there is a "taste berry," and it is one's attitude. If one's attitude is good, good can be found in the worst of tragedies. The worst of defeats can spur one on to do better the next time and to take advantage of lessons learned. With the right attitude one can see good in others in spite of their faults. A flawed effort on the part of someone whose heart is not totally pure can be viewed, not as a worthless attempt by a scoundrel, but as a step in the right direction.

On the other hand, if our attitude is not right, we can find fault with the best of efforts by the sincerest of people. Even the brightest of days will be overcast with a shadow of negative judgments. Have you ever been around someone who has the wrong attitude toward the Lord's church? All they can point to are the flaws and the faults (and there are plenty of them and they are easy to spot). All they seem to do is criticize and judge. If you try to get these people to see the good side of the picture, my experience has been that many of them refuse to listen. They do not want their negative prejudice to be dismissed by the truth. They do not want to know about all the benevolent work, mission work, and other good deeds done by God's people out of the goodness of their hearts.

It would be nice if we had a spiritual taste berry which we could give to people which would instantaneously make them positive, tenderhearted, grateful encouragers. All I know to do is to recommend a strong dose of prayer, Bible reading and "thinking about such things" as whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable (Col. 4:8).