By Bro. Odafe Obukohwo
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KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE, FOR OUT OF IT (THE HEART) ARE FOUND THE ISSUES OF LIFE (PROVERBS 4:23).
It is obvious that God’s word recognizes the importance of attitude, and either commends or condemns people for the product of attitude in their lives. Attitude reflects what we believe, what we are, what we will do, what we will sacrifice, how hard we will work, and how much of ourselves we will give to anything.
What is Attitude? Attitude is “the mind‐set or mental conditioning that determines our interpretation of and response to our environments.” It’s our way of thinking and our response positively or negatively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation etc. Attitude is a natural product of the integration of our self‐worth, self‐concepts, self‐esteem, and sense of value or significance. In essence, your attitude is the manifestation of who you think you are. For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Power: This is the ability to influence or outright control the behaviour of people. Ability to cause or prevent an action, make things happen; the discretion to act or not act.
In summary; power of attitude simply referred to the ability to influence manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; Attitude influences an individual’s choice of action, and responses to challenges, incentives, and rewards. Attitude dictates your response to the present and determines the quality of your future. If you do not control your attitude, it will control you. Attitude creates your world and designs your destiny. It determines your success or failure in any venture in life. It is the servant that can open the doors of life or close the gates of possibility. It can make beauty ugly and homeliness attractive.
We live in a society that is obsessed with negative attitudes. When you watch the local news on TV majority of what they report on are negative. You will hear about the fraud/corruption, latest murder, child abuse, or about the latest on a political scandal etc.
HOW CAN OUR ATTITUDE INFLUENCE SERVICE TO GOD?
God calls us from different backgrounds and is infinitely patient with us, He views us and our attitudes much the same as we view those we deal with. Without a positive attitude in our service to God we will be crippled, ineffective doomed to a life of spiritual immaturity and discontentment. You can’t keep attitude a secret. You will show it in your face, your voice, and your actions. Our Attitude determines our relationship with God and people both in the church and outside the church.
Positive attitudes help us to trust God against all odds. Negative attitudes negates our hearts vulnerable and exposable to despair. A bad attitude is always accompanied by a number of ungodly friends. Melancholy, ingratitude, fear, disbelief, complains, envy, jealousy, and anger just to name a few.
The Bible has many references to people of positive attitudes as well as people of negative attitudes.
Case study: Number 13:1‐33 and 14:1‐45.
The characters.
• The ten spies with the negative report (negative attitude) that affected the
congregation.
• The congregation that believed them became afraid (fear) shows the power/influence
of negative attitude.
• Joshua and Caleb whose report differed (positive attitude)
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants[d] (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in
our own sight, and so we were in their sight.
IF you believe in your heart that you are a sheep, then you will stay in the confines that others have placed you in or that you have made for yourself. As the attitude of these men influenced the congregation of Israel and were engulf with fear and disbelief, the same way our individual’s attitudes affects the church positively or negatively. If our attitudes are more of negatives, the church will be negatively influence like the congregation of Israel.
Jesus drew a contrast for his disciples in order to help them understand an attitude they should not have, and an attitude they should have: Mathew 20:25‐28.
People come to Church with negative attitude and with their heart totally distance from the Lord. They think by putting on their Sunday best cloths and throw a supper spiritual smile on their face, they impress God. God is not looking for people with negative attitude. He is looking for people who will seek him with their whole heart and the right attitude.
No amount of training in leadership skills, courses in management methods, power titles, promotions, or associations can substitute for the right attitudes. You alone is responsible for your attitude. There are plenty of things in life that we have no control over, but our attitude is 100% within your control.
IF you believe in your heart that you are a sheep, then you will stay in the confines that others have placed you in or that you have made for yourself. Your attitude represents your disposition, your outlook, and your very character. As an individual and a congregation, we must improve our attitude in other to maintain a good and godly attitude in all circumstances. We need to ask God to help replace our negative attitudes with positive ones, and practice thinking about what’s true, lovely and honorable until doing so becomes a habit Phil. 4:8.
Keep in mind that changing negative attitudes to positive ones isn’t an instant event; it’s a lifelong process that requires perseverance. No one can change our attitude unless we allow it to be changed. We must always keep in mind that God’s ultimate goal for His children is not our comfort, but the transformation of our minds into the attitude of godliness. He wants us to grow spiritually, to become like Christ. This doesn’t mean losing our personalities or becoming mindless clones. Christ likeness is all about transforming our minds.
Again, Paul tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
The attitude that we show in our daily living is a witness to others. We can slowly plant seeds in people’s lives with our attitudes (positively or negatively). A wrong or a negative attitude will drain us emotionally and spiritually.
Finally, we must improve our attitude and replace them with positive ones that will influence our service to God. Phil. 4:8
God bless us as we improve our attitudes positively in Jesus name. Amen!
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