Articles
Attitude is Everything, Pick a Good One!
Around our house, we have a plaque that hangs above the frame of the door so that our family can see it as they come and go everyday. The plaque reads "Attitude is Everything. Pick a Good One." We rise each and every day and have the opportunity to decide what kind of attitude to have as we carry out our daily tasks and ultimately, how we will treat those around us. We have a choice: do we have a good attitude – find the good in others and try to focus on the positive or do we have a bad attitude – grumble and complain and bring out the worst in everyone around us? Unfortunately, there are some people who decide to have a bad attitude before their feet ever hit the floor! We all know that person; they need a little more encouragement and love than others! But, as the body of Christ, we are called to have a different outlook. As we see in Philippians 1, even in the worst of circumstances, we can rejoice if we are living in our eternal life. In the long run, it really doesn't matter what the situation is, at the end of the day, we are called to face our situations with the attitude of Christ.
Paul, in writing to the church in Philippi, urged them to live their life in a way that was worthy of the sacrifice that purchased them from their sins. Not only that, he also encouraged the church in "being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves." (Phil 2:3) What he was really asking them to do was defy their own human nature and conduct themselves differently than the rest of the world. It is counter cultural for us to look out for others over ourselves. Paul wanted their attitude to be like that of Christ. He put the rest of the world before himself, because he was asked to do so; he took the cup that God was asking him to drink and he went to the cross on our behalf. Paul says that he "humbled himself and became obedient to death." Jesus Christ going to the cross is what looking out for others first looks like. How can we live out Phillipians 2:3 everyday?
