Written by Monica Dye, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Searcy, Arkansas
Attitude. We often say this word, but what does it mean? When my daughter was young and would sass back to me I would say to her, “watch your attitude.” To which she would answer, “I don’t have an attitude.” How often do we think or say that same thing? We all have an attitude about many things. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.
Attitude, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary means “a mental position with regard to a fact or state, or a feeling or emotion with/toward a fact or state.” Simply put, I think attitude is how I react to things that happen to me or around me. Sometimes I react positively, and sometimes I react negatively. But I always have an attitude.
Let’s redefine attitude to find out how God wants us to react to things that happen to us or around us. We think God always wants us to have a positive attitude to everything around us. We read Philippians 2:5, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset (attitude) as Christ Jesus” (ESV). Wow! That’s hard. Jesus loved everyone; some people annoy me. How do I react to them positively? What can I do?
Well, yes, Jesus did love everyone. But He also did not just approve of everything they did. Many times, in the Gospels He criticized the teachers of the Law. In Matthew 23, He called the Pharisees “hypocrites,” “snakes,” and “brood of vipers” (ESV). This was as He was pronouncing seven woes upon them. It sure doesn’t sound like a positive attitude towards them to me. The difference is, Jesus was saying these things out of love for them. He still cared about them. He knew their hearts were far from Him, He did not approve of their actions, yet He still loved them enough to die for them. This is the attitude we are called to have! We are called to love and care about our fellow humans. We don’t have to approve of their actions, but we have to love them.
If the definition of attitude is how we react to people and the things around us, how can we have the same attitude as Jesus? Can we call the people around us a brood of vipers or hypocrites? We have to be sure that our motives are in the right place. And that has to be out of love for them. The Bible teaches us how to have pure motives about how we react to people in several places. Here’s just a few:
1. “Love one another” (John 13:34, ESV)
We have to have an attitude of loving each other even when we are criticizing each other. Otherwise, we are just being mean.
2. “In humility, value others above yourselves” (Phil 2:3 ESV)
If you read the context of Philippians 2, we learn that Jesus did not look out for His own interests, but for the interests of others. He spoke to the Pharisees harshly because he was concerned for them. He wanted them to learn how to really know God.
3. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:8 ESV) In other words, let your attitude towards things be pure. Think about God and why He treated people as He did.
My attitude is certainly not always perfect. I lose my temper. I get frustrated. I lose patience. I have been and will always continue to work on my attitude through prayer and study. How about you? How will you work on your attitude?
For further reflection, study these verses:
James 3:18
James 4:1-12
Colossians 3:23