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(Presented by Lisa Bishop)
Are you speaking the language of heaven or hell? “Grumbling is the language of hell.” That statement stopped me in my tracks. It felt so poignant, so in your face, so true. And grumbling comes directly from your disposition, your attitude.
Philippians 2:14-16 says, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”
So what is attitude anyway? It’s the mental state or position you take as it relates to your life, and circumstances surrounding you. Your attitude is not what you think but how you think it, and your attitude frames every event in your life whether you realize it or not. Out of your attitude flows your enjoyment of life and gratitude for all your blessings or your disappointment and anger at how things have turned out. Everyday your attitude is challenged by other people and by external factors.
My attitude tends to be challenged when I am driving, when a coworker is getting on my nerves, or when someone is in the self-checkout lane at the grocery store with 50 items! Your attitude might tend to go sideways in similar ways or maybe it’s the weather that you let affect your attitude or the fact that it’s Monday… again. The point is, while you cannot control everything that happens in life you can control your attitude. You can choose your disposition on a daily basis.
If you were to monitor your attitude, what would you notice? Is your attitude set on positive or negative? Glass half-empty or half full? Is your disposition dialed to joyful in all circumstances, patient, forgiving, sacrificial. Or is your attitude’s automatic response set to grumpy, impatient, bitter, critical, or self-serving? When things are not going as you planned or people are not acting in the way you want, how will you react? Will you let a negative or inconsiderate person ruin your day or tempt you to lose your cool? Or will you be in control of your own internal weather? I am not saying it is always easy, but it is possible. You are the master of your internal world and you have a Master who will help you when you ask him, Jesus.
As a matter of fact, Philippians 2:5 is an imperative for every follower of Christ. The apostle Paul says, you should have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. As ambassadors of Christ, we are called to be like Jesus. And a Christlike attitude will make a difference in you and enable you to make a difference in the world around you.