Analyzing Your Attitude
“Your attitude should
be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5
One of the greatest
challenges we face in life is stress.
And one of the greatest reasons we deal with stress is our attitudes in
various circumstances. We have to ask,
“Why don’t all our strategies for dealing with stress and lessening stress and
getting rid of stress ever work?” There is weight that comes from anxiety in
our hearts.
We can even change
our surroundings. We can get a new
job. We can move to a new place. But slowly though, the stress creeps back into our lives. The way we tell the difference whether it is
a practical issue or a heart issue is if we keep facing the same things. We all make mistakes but if we keep doing it,
we have to ask ourselves, “Why?” Proverbs 12:25 says, “An
anxious heart weighs man down.” While it’s important to look at practical
matters, at some point, you have to evaluate the heart condition.
A pilot was having
difficulty landing his small airplane because fog had hidden the runway. So
the air traffic controller decided to bring the plane in by radar. As the pilot
received instruction, he suddenly recalled a tall poll in his flight path. Stricken with panic, he feverishly appealed
to the control tower. A blunt reply came back, "You obey instructions,
we’ll take care of obstructions."
There are several
attitudes we have to look out for. They
include the following:
1) First is the attitude of
pride
Why do we keep over-scheduling and over-committing? I think
it’s because we really believe that we can do it all The Christian version
says, “I believe that God can do it all through me.” Either way it’s
pride. The reason is I can’t do it all. You and I have limitations…God can do
everything. I believe that all of us can
do great things, greater things than we can imagine. We can do great things but we can’t do everything.
Proverbs 16:18
says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Some of us live with that reality
everyday. We may all experience a form
of it.
One of the best examples of this is Jesus. There were many things that Jesus didn’t
do. Jesus came to earth in human form
and He intentionally decided to limit Himself to one place at one time. He didn’t have to do that. He chose to do that. Jesus did heal every
person who was sick. There were a lot of
things that didn’t get done that needed to get done. He knew the stresses were so great that He
got away and prayed. If Jesus recognized
that He had limits, who am I to think that I don’t have limits?
2) Second is the attitude of
envy
Envy causes us to believe that we can be everything everyone is, all
the best of everyone. Proverbs 14:30
says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” God
has given all of us enough time to be the person He’s made us to be. So we’re trying to be that person but then we
notice another person who’s not us. They
are different than us. We like the
person that they are. We say, “I’d like
to have their talent and my talent…on and on.” Soon, we are trying to be 4, 5 and 6 people.
God has given us enough time to be the person He’s called us to be. But when we envy others, it puts extra stress on our life.
3) Third is the attitude of greed
Greed is an attitude that none of us want to admit to, but it’s
something that surrounds all of our lives and so it affects us all. We live in a pretty materialistic
world, (a beer commercial says, “Who
says, you can’t have it all!”). The
Bible does not say it’s wrong to be rich or poor. It talks about having an attitude of
contentment. God wants us to be
contented in no matter what state we are in.
There is nothing wrong with success.
God is the one that brings blessing. How do you know if it’s greed? One
test is, if I think, “I have to have that to be happy; “that job, that
increase, or whatever.” Whenever you
think of one thing as bringing you happiness, then you cross the line of greed. The Bible warns us greatly about this
attitude. Proverbs 25:16 says, “If you
find honey, don’t eat too much or it will make you throw up.”
Paul tells us in Philippians
2:5, “Your attitude should be the same
as that of Christ Jesus.” Jesus
found the antidote to pride by living a life of humility. He counteracted envy by knowing who He was and
what the Father had asked Him to do. He
responded to greed by finding contentment in what He had. How about you today? Do an
attitude analysis and see if the
Lord might reveal something that has become a hindrance. If you do, He’ll set you on the right
course. Remember, if you obey His
instructions, He’ll take care of the obstructions.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Which of the three attitudes
tends to encroach on your life the closest?
2) Turn it over to God and ask
Him to give you His antidote.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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