Have You Got Attitude?

I looked up the definition of the word “attitude”, and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary has a long list of definitions – some of them I had no clue about, but that are totally unrelated to what I had assumed the word meant.  I found these particular ones interesting though: “a mental position with regard to a fact or state – a helpful attitude”, ”a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state – a negative attitude – an optimistic attitude”, “a negative or hostile state of mind”

I find the above interesting as you see totally conflicting answers in regard to the same answer – negative/optimistic – helpful/hostile.

Vocabulary.com says this about the word “attitude”:  “a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways.”  Now this explanation seems to cover how  attitude can be conflicting – because it is dependent on individual beliefs and feelings, etc.; and, those things obviously can easily vary depending on the subject at hand.

We hear about people being a “glass half-full” or a “glass half-empty” person.  But regardless of which area you fall into, you can still at times have the opposite attitude, because no one is going to be positive or optimistic 100% of the time and vice-versa.  

As Christians, what should be our life attitude?  Here are a few scriptures that talk about that: “May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other.”  Romans 15:5 (TLB)                          “Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 2:5 (TLB) “Be devoted to one another with [authentic] brotherly affection [as members of one family], give preference to one another in honor.”  Romans 12:10 (AMP)

Okay, that all sounds wonderful – but, how can we, as imperfect humans ever accomplish those lofty ideals/goals?  I believe that this is the key – we need to allow God’s Holy Spirit to be our guide in order to live His way.  I like the way The Message translation explains the Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23:  “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

Jesus is our perfect example of living with the right attitude – and Jesus was humble above all else.  Philippians 2:5-8 says this:  “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.”  (MSG)

It’s so easy to let everything around us influence our attitudes – attitudes that can flip from good to bad like a light switch turns a light on and off.  We need to be on guard for that because our enemy can cause such negative things to happen when we drop our guard.  We need to remain strong and lean on our God for strength to be the best we can be.

Each morning when I have my prayer time, these are things that I claim from God’s Word:

Lord, make me a fortified wall of bronze so that no enemy can overcome me.  (Jeremiah 15:20)

And, never let me forget that you are with me like a mighty warrior.  (Jeremiah 20:11a)

I want to have the mind of Christ and all the Godly wisdom that offers to me.  I disavow my own wisdom and lean on God’s wisdom for all decisions I need to make today.  (1 Corinthians 2:16)

I then end my prayer time asking God to help me take every thought captive so that no thoughts become words or actions that are wrong in any way.  (We pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.  2 Corinthians 10:5 GNT) 

I want so very much to reflect Jesus to everyone I come into contact with, but I know that every day I fail miserably at that.  I must learn to consistently think about my attitude and attune myself to the Holy Spirit to help me.

Have you got attitude?  If so, where does it fall on the spectrum between positive and negative?  Do you, like me, need to be working harder on being more like Jesus?  Let’s be prayerful about it and do what we can humanly do to be all God wants us to be in our attitude.

“For those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the second, humility is the third.”  Augustine 

Written by Karran Martin – July 1, 2023