Dear Friends and Partners,
Do you know that in life your attitude can be your best friend or your worst enemy? We all have things that we go through every day, right? They’re called tests and trials. Or you could just say, “That’s life!” But how we go through things has a lot to do with the outcome. And our attitude can make the difference.
I know because for years I had a really bad attitude—and I was a Christian! Now, I’m not saying that a Christian’s behavior has to be 100 percent perfect, but what I am saying is whenever you or I say we’re a Christian, we’d better believe someone will be watching us to see how we act. And because of that, our attitude is very important. Our attitude will either draw people to us or push people away from us.
Philippians 2:5 tells us to let this same attitude…be in you which was in Christ Jesus…. In the midst of the things we go through, we should take the time to stop and think, What would Jesus’ attitude be in this situation? Because again, people are going to be watching to see how we—Christians—handle our circumstances in life.
And let’s not do it just because people are watching, but because there is power in a good attitude. The devil simply cannot defeat a person with a good attitude! A good attitude helps us to keep our focus in the right place—on God and not on our problems. With a positive attitude, we believe that no matter what we are experiencing at the moment is for our good…and even if it doesn’t feel good, it will work out for good… because if God is real, He is just…and whatever is wrong will be made right when we keep a right attitude about it.
So, maybe that means a daily attitude adjustment is necessary. Just think of the children of Israel, who took forty years to make an eleven-day trip through the wilderness to the Promised Land. What was their problem? Well they certainly had resistance from their enemies, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, the Jebusites and all the other “ites.” But these “ites” weren’t really the problem. It was their bad attitude in the wilderness. Because of that, only two of the original Israelites who were delivered from Egypt actually went into the Promised Land. Their attitude is what made the difference.
And we contend with our own “ites” today. You and I deal with “bad neighbor-ites,” “bad boss-ites,” “bad spouse-ites,” or “skin color-ites,” “bad childhood-ites,” “wrong side of the track-ites.” But, just like the children of Israel, our “ites” are not the real problem. It’s not our boss, our spouse, our skin color, or our upbringing. Our attitude toward those things is what can make or break the outcome of any of our situations in life.
We’re focusing this month’s issue of Enjoying Everyday Life on the power of a good attitude. The secret is that our enemy just cannot defeat us when our attitude is peaceful, loving, trusting, positive, faithful and humble. So, no matter what your “ites” may be, it may take some daily attitude adjustments, but remember…the devil just can’t beat a good attitude!
God bless you,
