My Daily Pause

Our general attitude is often displayed for all to see

How is your attitude?

Sometimes we might say something like “I have a bad attitude today.”

Saying that gets the point across, but it is more of an expression of our current state of mind. “I am in a bad mood” is a better way to state it. When we talk about our attitude, it is usually relative to our overall disposition.

Our attitude affects what our mood is most likely to be on any given day. It also affects how much energy it takes to get through a situation.

In fact, the term “Attitude” is even used by a pilots to describe how their craft is positioned in the sky.

An experienced pilot can use the attitude of the airplane to predict a number of things to help it along its journey. Everything about the journey depends on the airplane and how it interacts with the environment – fuel usage, speed, altitude – everything.

People are the same way.

When we understand what attitude is, we can accurately describe a person and understand why they make certain decisions.

An attitude of entitlement causes many to become takers.

An attitude of service causes some to become givers.

The attitude of a victim makes one believe the world is out to get him

Those with an attitude of contentment find the simple pleasure of life to be enough to make them happy.

This is so true that we could look at any given “self-help” book and figure out what kind of attitude the author wants us to have. We have to position ourselves properly in order to achieve our goals in the most efficient manner.

Jesus thought so too.

Attitude is so important to every decision we make in life, that changing the attitude of his potential followers was the first thing Jesus set out to do. The Sermon on the Mount pointed out the flaws in how people were obeying God’s word:

It was no longer going to be enough to simply not kill your neighbor for offending you, you also have to be quick to forgive. (Matthew 5:21-26, 38-42)

It was no longer enough to keep your hands off a woman that was not your wife, you are not supposed to even think of another woman in that way. (Matthew 5:27-30)

It was no longer proper to take an oath to prove you are telling the truth, you should cultivate a reputation of always being truthful. (Matthew 5:33-37)

In order to set things right and serve God the way he had always intended, a new attitude was going to be required.

Think about it for a minute – how easy is it to avoid sin when we look for ways to justify an action that falls into that “gray area?” When we take the approach of obeying the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law, we tend to get comfortable with being in sinful situations.

Let’s ask it again

Now – how is your attitude?

Think about what you have accomplished this year. Think about what you plan to do today. Think about your relationship in general with someone important to you.

These are some things that can give you clues to how those around you see you on a day-to-day basis.

We are going to look at this from a Scriptural standpoint this week – stay tuned.