Bad Attitude

Matthew 22: 1 – 14

Check your attitude at the door

22 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

In composing today’s bible study, I thought of the saying ‘check your attitude at the door’. The saying originated from the idea of checking your coat at a restaurant or social gathering.

Basically, it means that you are nothing special. You may think you are but when you enter a social gathering there will not be a person with a microphone announcing your presence nor will the band break out ‘Hail to the chief’. You are just one of the guests, so you do not need to bring into the gathering any bad attitude.

Your attitude speaks volumes before you utter a word. Like your shadow, you often are unaware of it. Your attitude permeates everything about you: the way you think, the tone of your voice, what words you choose, and even how you move your body (body language). While you may think that your thoughts and feeling gets translated into your body language and is very much like those electronic signs with a message that flashes, this time across your forehead. Your body language has a larger impact on others that the words you speak Put it all together and you will find your attitude sets the tone for how people respond to you. Everyone has experienced the vibes that come off a person. You take one look and you know whether to approach or stay away. Your attitude is born out of a set of conclusions and decisions you have made about a person, situation, or your life. Humans like to be ‘right’ about their thoughts and conclusions. If you have a hostile attitude you will experience hostile events in your life and approach people in a hostile way. When you are in a negative frame of mind you are sending negative signals to others and they will respond to your hostile signals in a negative way. Their response will reinforce your conclusion that the world is a negative place. If you have a cheerful attitude, likewise, you will experience events in your life. In a way to support your positive conclusions. Your attitude usually resides in your blind spot because most of the time you are focused on your thoughts, not the attitude they are coming from.

I looked up some bad attitudes we put forth. I was amazed at the amount of them, so I am only going to give you some to consider;

Affected aloof apathetic

Arrogant authoritarian callous

Cold combative conceited

Cruel deceiving dishonest

Hatred hostile ill-will

Impolite inconsiderate intolerant

Lazy lying malice

Mean mistrusting negative

Pessimistic petty pretentious

Rebellious reluctant resentful

Rigid rude un-willing

The emphasis in this parable is on people’s attitude towards the king’s son, and in the final analysis on their attitude to our Lord Jesus, the true King’s Son. The tenants in the vineyard had despised Him. Now all must consider their response to Him. That Jesus Is the King’s Son has been made clear from the beginning. He Is the son of David the King. He rides into Jerusalem as the Coming King (21.4-5). Thus, there can be no doubt Who the King’s Son Is.