Your Attitude is everything
The
secret to walking on the path of the righteous is your attitude. We have a
choice between the path that leads to life, and the path which leads to
destruction. Our spirit pulls us towards God’s
path but our flesh seeks the easier path which leads to destruction. Our soul
chooses where we will go.
The
human soul, which is made up of the mind, the will, and the emotions, chooses
to accept or reject God. The state of the entire soul revolves around our
attitude. The important choice between God and the world, must be made by the
human will. The will is controlled by attitude.
Your
attitude will determine where you are going. Your attitude towards the things
of God will determine your destiny. If you believe God’s promises, you are headed for the sky. If you choose
to ignore God’s will for your life, your path will sink lower and
lower.
Your
attitude directly effects how high you will go. Jesus promised, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Righteousness is a free gift of God, but you must
accept it. Being righteous begins with a decision you make.
God
has a plan for your life, but if your attitude is bad, your destiny will not be
fulfilled. The children of Israel are a prime example of this. God wanted to
take them into the promised land which flowed with milk and honey but the
Israelites had a bad attitude problem. They complained about everything. They
hated Moses, they hated the desert, and they hated the food God gave them.
Their attitudes were bad.
Moses
sent twelve spies into the Promised Land to explore. All twelve came back and
reported it was a good land. They had seen the blessings God had in store for
His children. However, ten of the spies came back with bad attitudes. These ten
spies pointed to the giants in the land and they said it would be impossible
for the children of Israel to conquer them.
Two
of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, came back with good attitudes. They proclaimed
to the Israelites, “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight
for you...” (Deuteronomy 1:30). It was ten spies against two and
the bad attitudes won. The people mentally decided it would be impossible for
them to take over Canaan.
God
was forced to give them a time-out for forty years to change their attitudes.
Like unruly children, the Israelites were forced to sit in the corner until
they changed the way they thought. God was angry and swore, “Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good
land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will
see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on,
because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly” (Deuteronomy 1:34-36).
Caleb
and Joshua followed the Lord wholeheartedly. Because of their good attitudes,
God allowed them to go into the promised land. None of the bad attitude bunch
ever went into the land flowing with milk and honey. A good attitude takes you
where God wants you to go, but a bad attitude will cause you to wonder around
in circles in the desert.
Your attitude should be
the same as Jesus Christ
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians
2:5). Jesus had the attitude of a servant and he allowed himself to be humbled
by dying on a cross for our sins in obedience to God.
“He
(Jesus) humbled himself and became obedient to death ‑ even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11).
Jesus’ attitude caused His altitude to change. Jesus had a
humble attitude of obedience to God. This attitude caused him to be lifted high
on a cross, so he could draw all men to God. The cross was a painful
experience, but Jesus went through with it, because his Father asked him to.
Because of his attitude of obedience, God exalted Jesus to the highest place.
Jesus
said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me”
(Mark 8:33‑34). If we will humble ourselves and take up our cross, God will
exalt us. This exaltation is not for our gain. Its purpose is to draw all men
unto God. Our attitude should be the desire to please and obey God. We need to
follow the example of Jesus.
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