Resources/Articles
Is Your Attitude Really You?
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes;
but Jehovah weigheth the hearts.
Proverbs 21:2
What is your present attitude toward the following: Cold? Your knowledge? Taxes? Your heath? Today? Your future? Your soul?
Is there anyone or anything which could change your present view of the list above? What would have to be said or done by someone, or what conditions or circumstances would cause there to be a change in your view of what is listed above? Would your attitude change regardless of the change of any circumstances or attitude of another person?
It is assumed Christians have the best attitudes. They should. It is not always the case. There should be consistency in our attitudes. Every day should be a good day as long as we have the day. Rain or sunshine, hot or cold, sick or well, etc. should not change the attitudes of those in Christ. Easier said than done, is it not? We most often repeat our attitudes every time the same conditions reoccur. We make excuses for our attitudes by saying, “I always feel this way about...” or “I feel this way every time this happens.” Should this be? Is our “default” into a certain attitude the right one?
Attitudes make up who we are. We like or dislike ourselves because of these attitudes. Other people feel the same way about us as well. Attitudes are at our mercy. No one places them inside you. They are what you determine to have from whatever happens or does not happen to you. Attitudes are not a “cause and effect” of someone’s effort to bully your mind. Your heart is the deciding factor.
The key word is HEART. Upon what have you placed your heart? Is it upon God or upon the world (Colossians 3:1-4)? Where your heart rests every day makes a difference in your attitude.
Every day you will be a created image of God. This is still true whether the sun shines today or the rain floods the backyard. This does not overshadow the fact something should not be done for the sake of safety or preventing the water from coming into the house. The point is, there are absolute truths which remain the same in spite of what happens or what others may do. At the end of the day you are still created in God’s image. What then is your attitude toward that? If your attitude is based more upon how much you are conformed to the world, your views quickly change about the sunshine and the flooded backyard. Remember “Where your treasure is, there will thy heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Whatever attitude we have has an impact on so many things. Our attitudes are INFECTIOUS. Others (spouse, children, church members, co-workers, teammates, etc.) can catch the same attitudes you have. If you read the story of the 12 spies in Numbers 13-14, you will understand what you say makes a difference in the attitudes of others.
Our attitudes PROMPT ACTION. Matthew 15:18-20 illustrates this as well as any. Whatever proceeds out of the mouth or in some behavior comes forth from the heart and its attitude. What Zacchaeus did by having Jesus in his house prompted him to repay anyone he had cheated (Luke 19:1-9). What would the attitude of Christ prompt you to do?
Our attitudes are FRAME OUR FAITH. If you read 1 Corinthians 12:14-19, you would realize the need for every Christian in the church. Some Christians may not believe they can do anything. When you think about what Timothy said in 2 Timothy 1:12, our attitudes would be much different. “...For I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded, that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
Belief in Christ framed around our attitudes is the difference in hope and despair, peace and misery, or endurance and complaint. Trust in God and His word are the greatest inspirations for any attitude. They provide a conscience with assurance. This is the attitude all of mankind should have today and every day. Do you??
