What It Really Means to Have the Christ like Attitude?
There is nothing as powerful as attitude and it dictates our response to the present and determines the quality of our future. Stephen Covey, Tony Robbins and many other motivational speakers attest to the fact that attitude plays a significant role in someone’s success. The beginning of leadership, servant hood and success is defined in our attitude. A positive attitude is a manner of acting, speaking or thinking that shows one’s character to be fully assured and absolutely confident in God. If you have faith in God, then you can have a positive attitude.
Attitude creates our world and designs our destiny. It determines our success or failure in any venture in life. More opportunities have been lost, withheld, and forfeited because of attitude than from any other cause. Attitude is a more powerful distinction in life than fitness, beauty, power, title, or social status. It is more important than wealth and it can keep one poor. 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. The power in positive attitude for the believer is rooted in what we think about God and His word. Bible gives us a clear direction in how we can think positively: “ Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”.(Philippians 4:8) If you are continually thinking about the goodness of God, you won’t have any time to dwell on negative thoughts that may get you down and discouraged.
Negative attitude is our biggest obstacle to maintain friendships, jobs, marriage& relationships. Because Negative people will blame the whole world, their parents, teachers, spouse, the economy and the government for their failures. Even in paradise fault finders will find faults. Most people find what they are looking for. If you’re looking for Blessings, holiness, happiness, & Peace, that is what you get. Stay away from negative influences, people, behavior& environments start our day with positive thoughts. People with positive attitude are caring, confident, patient, and humble. With a positive attitude you see the bright side of life, become optimistic, and expect the best to happen. What you think about yourself is also significant. Find out who you are according to the Word. Don’t listen to what the Negative people says; you define yourself by what God says about you. That means you are who God says that you are, you can have what God says you can have, you can do what God says you can do. When you are in Christ, there is no limit to the good things that are in you. A positive attitude leads to happiness and success and can change your whole life. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing.
5000 years ago, a set of books known as "The Pentateuch" called it “The Law." And it says “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8) 2000 years ago, another set of books known as "the gospels" called it “The Beatitudes." Jesus Christ gave us the Beatitudes known as the “Sermon on the Mount” which is recorded in gospel of Matthew 5-7. He teaches transformation of the inner person. All of the Beatitudes have an eschatological meaning, that is, they promise us salvation - not in this world, but in the next. While the Beatitudes of Jesus provide a way of life that promises salvation, they also provide peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations on this earth. The Beatitudes describe the ideal disciple and his rewards, both present and future.
73 years ago, clergyman Norman Vincent Peale called it "positive thinking." 25 years ago, psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman called it "learned optimism." 5 years ago, Professor Shawn Achor called it the "happiness advantage." But when you do a Google search on these terms, most people seem to sum up them together and simply refer to them as “Positive attitude," or "Positive thinking." There seems to be a general feeling ... that whatever we call it ... these terms have a lot to do with success in life and at work. Psychologists and cutting-edge scientists are now suggesting that our thoughts affect and ultimately determine the person we become. When we are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive. It’s no wonder the Proverbs says “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.”(Proverbs 4:23 NCV)
One of the challenges many struggle with today is keeping a clean thought life. Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes our attitude, and Man is Mind, and evermore he takes the tool of thought, and, shaping what he wills, Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass: The condition of our minds determines the condition of our lives. Cigarette packages carry warnings that smoking may be hazardous to our health, but wrong thinking can also be hazardous to our health. In Genesis 6 passage, we see that God destroyed an entire world because the imagination of man’s thoughts—of their hearts—was only evil continually. God had to eradicate an entire generation because of their thought life. The wickedness of man springs from his thought life. So It is vital for our spiritual, mental, emotional—and even physical—health that we get control over our thought life. Galatians 6:7 says: “A man reaps what he sows.” Perhaps you’ve heard this quotation
Sow a thought, reap an act;
Sow an act; reap a habit;
Sow a habit; reap a character;
Sow a character; reap a destiny.
To live differently, we must think differently. King Solomon said “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." “We do not see the world as it is. We see the world as we are.” Old Testament saint Job said, "The thing I greatly feared came upon me." You will eventually become what you think. If you allow yourself to think negative worried, fearful thoughts, then you will become a negative, worried, fearful person. You cannot think defeat and expect victory. Victory and Defeat begins in the mind. You can't think poverty, and expect wealth. You can't think the worst, and expect the best. Remember you cannot control what happens to you in your life, but you can always control how you respond to it. The way you choose to respond is a reflection of your thoughts. By changing your thoughts, you also change your attitude and your life.
So quit thinking about what you don't have and start thinking about what you do have. Quit thinking about what's wrong with you and start thinking about what's right with you. Quit thinking about how big your problem is and start dwelling on the fact of how big your God is. If you wanted to a blessed person, your meditation must agree with God’s thoughts. Jesus said "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32) The only way to replace the error of the world’s way of thinking is to replace it with truth, and the only infallible source of truth is found in his revealed word, the Holy Scripture. There are no shortcuts. There is no magic formula for renewing our minds. We must fill our minds with God’s word. This is why Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
There is the positive aspect in everything. In every person, in every situation, there is something good. No matter how terrible the situation might seem, we always can find something good if we take the time to think about it. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. Things that build you up not tear you down. Be proactive instead of reactive. In every situation, you have another choice: you can complain, or you can do something about your problem. Complaining makes you unhappy, but taking action will almost always make you feel better about the situation. It makes you feel productive. If you want to live a positive, joyful and happy life, you cannot – be surrounded by negative thoughts and negative people. All great accomplishments come from people who think differently about something… all innovations come from people who are prepared to think differently. Thinking differently is a decisive discipline; it’s a rejection of mediocrity, status quo… Thinking differently is fine but we must be realistic, and that means: Appreciate the truth… get the facts…and. think through the pros and cons.
Writing from a prison cell in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote about the attitude a follower of Christ should have: he wrote “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). He’s telling us that no matter what unexpected disruptions, frustrations, or difficulties come our way, we are to respond with a Christ-like attitude. Philippians 2:5 says “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” To have the mind of Christ means to think with the Word of God, so that we bring our thoughts and actions into harmony with God’s viewpoint by applying God’s thoughts to everything we do and to everything that happens to us.Jesus maintained a perfect attitude in every situation because He prayed about everything and worried about nothing. We, too, should seek God’s guidance about every aspect of our lives and allow Him to work out His perfect will without intrusion. Jesus’ attitude was never to become defensive, discouraged, or depressed because His goal was to please the Father rather than to achieve His own agenda.
In the midst of trials, Jesus was patient. In the midst of suffering, He was hopeful. In the midst of blessing, He was humble. Even in the midst of ridicule, abuse, and hostility, He “made no threats . . . and did not retaliate. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). When Paul tells us that our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” he had summarized in the previous two verses what such an attitude was: see Philippians 2:3-5 “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.”(NLT)
The best way to do this is quite simple and basic: Be gracious and kind. Be kind to other people, no matter what. In other words, the attitude a person should reflect is one that focuses on the needs and interests of others. Without question, that does not come naturally to us. When Christ came into the world, He established a whole new attitude to relationships with others. One day when His disciples were arguing among themselves regarding who was to be greatest in His kingdom, Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28).
Jesus is teaching us that, when we become preoccupied with our own things, it can cause conflicts and other problems with people we know. Instead, God wants us to have an attitude of serious, caring involvement in the concerns of others. Each time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and the people around us, we’re only demonstrating that we want to be a little god. But we must understand that, as creatures, we will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want us to try to become gods. Instead, He wants us to become like Him, taking on His values, His attitudes, and His character. Seek it! Exhibit it! God bless you.
