Pastor and author Charles Swindoll has famously said, “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Consider the following Bible verses concerning our attitude:
Romans 15:5, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.”
Philippians 2:5, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”
1 Peter 4:1, “…you must arm yourselves with the same attitude Christ had…”
Did you notice the theme from these verses? We are encouraged to be like Jesus Christ, to have His same attitude. That is a high calling, but God wants to see each of us at our best and we are at our best when we reflect the same attitude that Jesus Christ had. Having a good attitude is a foundation for treating others well.
The Bible conveys the idea that our attitude is in the realm of our responsibility. In other words, we can do something about it. What has been your disposition and general tone lately? How has your attitude been coloring your character? Have you been Christlike? Of course, we all fall short of Christ’s perfect example in some way or another and God’s grace will sustain us through our growth. Yet nevertheless, we are encouraged to make Christlikeness our aim and this entails giving effort toward working on our attitude. If we notice we are in need of an attitude adjustment, let’s turn our minds to meditating on Christ’s example and ask for God’s help in prayer.
God, please soften my heart and enhance my perspective so that I reflect the attitude of Jesus. Help me to be humble, loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled as I place my trust in You and look to You as my example. Thank You for giving me a perfect example by the way You lived here on earth and how You treat me. In Jesus’ name, amen.