One of my most memorable life lessons has to do with my attitude. The classroom setting was behind the steering wheel of my car. I had looked into my rear view mirror and could see a red pick up truck speeding and cutting off every vehicle in its way. As the driver approached my back end, leaving only inches between us, I armored myself with an attitude of entitlement. In my head I was thinking, “You won’t do to me what you have done to everyone else!” My thinking then provoked me to feeling anger towards this reckless driver. And as a result, I reacted by displaying a hand signed message that required only one finger! The driver then immediately pulled up along side of me, decelerated, and stared at me with his threatening gaze. It was as if I had come face to face with one of those very frightening characters from the 1978 movie called The Deer Hunter. As he hit the pedal to the metal and cut in front of me, I got a visual that cured me of any further attitude of road entitlement or finger signaling. Racked behind his opened back widow were his secured rifles. Their barrels could have easily been aimed for me or anyone else at any time!
When I talk about attitude, I describe it as the behavior that mirrors what I am thinking and feeling. If I could replay the above scenario from 30 years ago, knowing what I know today, my thinking, feeling and behavior would be more representative of what God has taught me, rather than what the world has taught me. Through God’s Word, I have learned the importance of ALWAYS valuing an attitude of gratitude. 1Thessalonians 5:18 tells me, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” But I also have to be honest and admit that there are times when it can be a real struggle for me to have a thankful attitude in ALL things, ALL circumstances, and ALL situations.
Living with an attitude of gratitude means that I have to slow myself down so I can respond to life rather than react to it. It means that I take the time to yield to God’s will and obey what His Word tells me. When I retrieve the words that come from God’s mouth, rather than my mouth, my thinking becomes His thinking. And because my thinking has been renewed, so are my feelings, behavior, and attitude.
When I revisit the man in his truck, here is how I would hope for it to play out for me if it had happened today. I would want my thoughts, feelings, behavior, and attitude to be reflective of God’s instruction from 1Thessalonians 5:18: “Lord, as I see that truck weaving in an out of traffic, I thank you for being the Joy in my life. Thank you for giving me the eyes to see the potential danger that is behind me. And please cover all of us in your protective love and give us wisdom to avoid any kind of catastrophe.”
In this reenactment my thinking is not focused on fighting someone. The fight is replaced with an immediate turn and surrender to God, and then asking Him for everyone’s safety, including the driver’s! Instead of anger being the feeling, it is replaced with the feeling of joy. My attitude is not entitlement, it has become thankfulness.
In the mid to late 1990’s, I routinely listened to Charles Swindoll’s teaching on Christian radio. His program still runs and is called Insight for Living. “Chuck” is a pastor, author, educator, and preacher. I have always treasured his writing on attitude that I received more than 10 years ago. It has often been used in the Clutter Healing Classes. Two weeks ago I was asking the Lord to let me know if I was to include Chuck’s piece on attitude for this posting. As I was flipping through the radio stations one evening, I heard Chuck’s voice and tuned in. I could hardly believe my ears, Chuck was doing his teaching on attitude! So here it is.
When I talk about attitude, I describe it as the behavior that mirrors what I am thinking and feeling. If I could replay the above scenario from 30 years ago, knowing what I know today, my thinking, feeling and behavior would be more representative of what God has taught me, rather than what the world has taught me. Through God’s Word, I have learned the importance of ALWAYS valuing an attitude of gratitude. 1Thessalonians 5:18 tells me, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” But I also have to be honest and admit that there are times when it can be a real struggle for me to have a thankful attitude in ALL things, ALL circumstances, and ALL situations.
Living with an attitude of gratitude means that I have to slow myself down so I can respond to life rather than react to it. It means that I take the time to yield to God’s will and obey what His Word tells me. When I retrieve the words that come from God’s mouth, rather than my mouth, my thinking becomes His thinking. And because my thinking has been renewed, so are my feelings, behavior, and attitude.
When I revisit the man in his truck, here is how I would hope for it to play out for me if it had happened today. I would want my thoughts, feelings, behavior, and attitude to be reflective of God’s instruction from 1Thessalonians 5:18: “Lord, as I see that truck weaving in an out of traffic, I thank you for being the Joy in my life. Thank you for giving me the eyes to see the potential danger that is behind me. And please cover all of us in your protective love and give us wisdom to avoid any kind of catastrophe.”
In this reenactment my thinking is not focused on fighting someone. The fight is replaced with an immediate turn and surrender to God, and then asking Him for everyone’s safety, including the driver’s! Instead of anger being the feeling, it is replaced with the feeling of joy. My attitude is not entitlement, it has become thankfulness.
In the mid to late 1990’s, I routinely listened to Charles Swindoll’s teaching on Christian radio. His program still runs and is called Insight for Living. “Chuck” is a pastor, author, educator, and preacher. I have always treasured his writing on attitude that I received more than 10 years ago. It has often been used in the Clutter Healing Classes. Two weeks ago I was asking the Lord to let me know if I was to include Chuck’s piece on attitude for this posting. As I was flipping through the radio stations one evening, I heard Chuck’s voice and tuned in. I could hardly believe my ears, Chuck was doing his teaching on attitude! So here it is.
Attitude
The longer I live,
the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude to me, is more important than fact.
It is more important than the past,
than education, than money, than circumstances,
than failures, than successes,
than what other people 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 that we have a choice everyday
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We can not change our past.
We can not change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play
on the one string we have, and that is attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you.
We are in charge of our attitudes.
the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude to me, is more important than fact.
It is more important than the past,
than education, than money, than circumstances,
than failures, than successes,
than what other people 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 that we have a choice everyday
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We can not change our past.
We can not change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play
on the one string we have, and that is attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you.
We are in charge of our attitudes.
-Chuck Swindoll-
May you be blessed with an attitude of gratitude this Thanksgiving,
and all your days to follow.
and all your days to follow.
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