Check your attitude: Part 2

Yesterday I asked the question “what’s your attitude like?”. And I said that there are positive and negative attitudes,and one of the negative attitudes is looking back and wanting to live in the past. Your past may have been pleasant and nice,but you can’t stay there. I want to refer to what is called  The Forward Attitude. This is a positive attitude..looking to the days ahead,or dreaming about the future.

How do you picture your tomorrows? Because regardless of what your past may have been,your future stretches out before you like a giant sketchpad waiting for you to make your mark. What is that picture going to be? What are your dreams for your life,for your family? Where do you want to be six months down the road,a year from now,five years,ten years?

The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14 “I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind,and I struggle for what is ahead. I run towards the goal,so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done”
Paul had a tremendous forward thinking attitude.

So we’ve got to have a forward attitude when it comes to this life,and when it comes to eternity. We will die one day .. so keep your eyes on Jesus and on the promise of Heaven for when this life is over. In Hebrews 12 the Bible tells us to “get rid of everything that slows us down,especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus,who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross,because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. How he is seated at the right side of God’s throne”. (v1-2)

Some people struggle with  The Downward Attitude

You ever meet someone who is always down? It seems that they are constantly seasick on the journey of life. It doesn’t matter what happens,they know things are always going to get worse. They have a downward attitude. Don’t you just love being around people like that? We are not born pessimistic…unfortunately,we are trained in this fact. Lots of negative experiences turn many of us into pessimists.
 
Actually,there’s a story in the Old Testament about some pretty negative people… who,no matter how positive things really were,they could always point out the problems.

It’s after the Exodus from Egypt which I referred to yesterday  and now the Israelites have come to the very edge of what they called the Promised Land… the Land that God had promised to give to them. So in preparation for the people of God to move into that land,Moses sent 12 spies to do what spies do best… spy. And when they came back they had a glowing report of how fertile the land was and what a wonderful place it would be to live… and then they dropped the bombshell. They said…

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Numbers 13:28,31-33 (NLT) “But the people who live there are strong,and their cities are large and walled. Giants live there. The other men said “those people are much too strong for us. They started spreading rumours ‘ we won’t be able to grow anything in that soil. And the people are like giants. They were so big that we felt as small as grasshoppers”. They hadn’t heard of Philippians 2:14-15 “Do everything without complaining and arguing so that no-one can criticize you”.

But we can have the Upward Attitude

Moses sent spies into the Promised Land,and they  came back with a really negative view. But the truth is,of the 12 spies that were sent,only 10 of them had that negative downward attitude. So what about the other 2? Well,this is what Caleb and Joshua reported…

Numbers 14:7-8 (NLT)
They said to all the people of Israel,”The land we travelled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us,he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.”

They were excited about  the land and the potential.  And they bolstered up their courage to move right into the land despite the downward attitudes of the other spies.

Interesting. Same land,same time frame,they saw the same things… and yet instead of a negative report they came back with a positive report. Why? Perhaps the truth comes in the words of Sugar Ray Robinson who said…

“I’ve always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative.”

Or how about what Christopher Reeve said? He had it all,a successful career,a wonderful life,adoring fans,everything a man could want. And than in one minute it was all over. He was doing what he loved,jumping competitively when his horse stumbled,he tumbled,and the life he knew was over. Christopher Reeve went from being a Superman to being a quadriplegic who even needed a machine to breathe for him. I would think that Christopher Reeve probably has some pretty good reasons to be negative… to have a downward attitude. But listen to what he said:

“You play the hand you’re dealt. I think the game’s worthwhile.” ~ Christopher Reeve

You see,you get to choose how you are going to look at life. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are,how are you going to look at life? Will it be with a downward,negative attitude,always able to find a problem in every solution,always able to spot the dark cloud inside the silver lining? Or will it be with a positive,upward attitude? Only you get to decide that.

There’s another negative attitude ..  The Inward Attitude

Now here’s an attitude that’s very easy for us to develop. It’s easy for us to become inward focused. It’s easy for us to become selfish… not caring about other people; only caring about ourselves.

Philippians 2:3-5 (NLT)
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble,thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests,but take an interest in others,too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

And what kind of attitude did Jesus have? It certainly wasn’t an inward attitude. It was an attitude that drove Him to sacrifice everything for the benefit of others.

So if you’re not to have an inward attitude,what kind of attitude are you supposed to have?
Positive: The Outward Attitude

This is the kind of attitude that genuinely cares for other people…that reaches out with love and compassion. It’s the kind of attitude that reflects the heart of God. The Christian faith is about caring for others because God cares for us. We want to serve and help them.

What is it that drives you in life? Is it your own personal desire to acquire and to make yourself happy and to satisfy all your wants,or do you genuinely care for others? When was the last time you did something for someone else and there was nothing in it for you? Are you able to look beyond yourself? Do you see others the way that Jesus sees them? Does the love and compassion that you have received from God flow through you to those around you?

Romans 12:9-10 (NLT)
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection,and take delight in honouring each other.

I think… if we’re going to be Christ-followers and we’re going to live the way He wants us to live… if we’re going to become more like Him,then this outward attitude is essential.