THE SKELETON AT THE FEAST ---YOUR ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com Part #1
ALTITUDE: the height of something, elevation, what you are known for...success, rank
ATTITUDE: the way you think or feel about something, the way you think affects your behavior, the mental position, emotional state,
ATTITUDE CAN MEAN: a negative or hostile state of mind, cool, cocky, defiant...
WHAT KIND OF ATTITUDE ARE YOU KNOWN FOR ---?
REVILE? MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO LOVE TO CRITICIZE OTHER PEOPLE IN AN ANGRY WAY.
THIS BEHAVIOR OFTEN BECOMES HABITUAL AND PERSISTENT VERBAL ABUSE.
THIS ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR THREATENS THE PEACE AND BECOMES A DOMINATING FEATURE. Quick tempered, angry, bitter, quarrelsome, argument, never happy, always finding fault becomes a standard of life. It becomes very easy in anger to find fault with everything. One tends to BLAME every one for the MOOD THEY HAVE CHOSEN.
This REVILING ATTITUDE can develop a RAZOR BLADE TONGUE leaving everyone in the path HURT,
REVILE: VERBAL ABUSE. To speak against someone in a critical, judgment, or insulting way...
1 Corinthians 4:12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
1 Corinthians 4:12 and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, "God bless you." 13 When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We're treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture's kitchen. And it's not getting any better.
NEVER FORGET HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE...
THIS LESSON IS NOT HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM REVILING YOU... SEEMS I AM NOT WISE ENOUGH TO DEVELOP A PLAN TO STOP MEAN PEOPLE AND THEIR NEGATIVE TONGUE.
Jesus was often reviled... The real lesson is WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE REVILES YOU...
THE LESSON IS ABOUT OUR ATTITUDES...
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE HURT OR WRONGED?
GOD HAS A CLEAR PLAN: REJOICE AND MOVE ON...
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Matthew 5:11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
THE SUITCASE CRAWL...
When we bought our place it came with a dog and 100 chickens. I had never been around chickens much except at Kentucky Fried. I enjoyed my chickens and we sold the brown eggs to Japanese people every Friday.
I loved to go down and sit and watch them. They are amazing animals. They develop a PECKING ORDER
that can clearly be seen by watching them. Those that peck always PECK DOWN, they never peck up the order.
I could never understand why some were mean and ran off other chickens while they were eating? There was plenty of food for all, BUT SOME SEEMED TO LOVE TO BE MEAN AND RUN the other chickens away.
The bottom of the pecking order always had to wait until the "BOSS ROOSTER" and his friends were finished.
One day as I was gathering eggs I saw a dead chicken. I removed him from the hen house and called my neighbor friend to come and see what had killed my chicken? Bob came over and looked at the dead hen and immediately knew what killed it... THE CHICKEN HAD DEVELOPED A SUITCASE CRAWL.
What on earth is a suitcase crawl? Bob explained to me that occasionally a chicken would eat and the food would hang up in THE CRAWL. The more the chicken ate the more packed THE CRAWL became. The chicken DIES, IT STARVES TO DEATH full of food.
THERE IS A GREAT DANGER IN REAL, DAILY LIFE. WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER IN WORD AND DEED! WE PICK OUR FRIENDS --- WE PICK THEM TO PIECES...
Seems I have known several people that have allowed problems, trials, suffering, NEGATIVISM to MAKE THEM HURT, ANGRY, BITTER SO MUCH THEY HAVE BECOME CRITICAL, NEGATIVE AND PESSIMISTIC.
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
Some people have NO OLD FRIENDS, seems they cannot get along with others, DOES NOT PLAY WELL with others... so all the can have is NEW FRIENDSHIP. They cannot stand their family but they love strangers on the computer? Strange?
Never forget: TO KNOW ME IS TO LOVE ME --- IS NOT ALWAYS A FAIR ASSESSMENT. We must be able to set aside negative incidents --- COME TO A RIGHT PERSPECTIVE and MOVE ON WITH LIFE.
25 YEARS AGO I HEARD A PREACHER QUOTE F. BUECHNER AND I ASKED FOR HIS NOTES AND WROTE THIS WORDS IN THE FRONT OF ONE OF MY RETIRED BIBLES. THE LESSON WAS ABOUT ATTITUDES...
THE SKELETON AT THE FEAST!
OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, ANGER IS POSSIBIBLY THE MOST FUN!
TO LICK YOUR WOUNDS, TO SMACK YOUR LIPS OVER GRIEVANCES LONG PAST!
TO ROLL OVER YOUR TONGUE THE PROSPECT OF BITTER CONFRONTATION STILL TO COME!
TO SAVOR TO THE LAST TOOTHSOME MORSEL THE PAIN YOU ARE GIVEN---
AND THE PAIN YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE BACK!
IN MANY WAYS THIS IS A FEAST FIT FOR THE KING!
THE CHIEF DRAWBACK IS WHAT YOU ARE WOLFING DOWN IS YOURSELF!
THE SKELETON AT THE FEAST IS YOU!
LET US REASON TOGETHER LIFE IS WON OR LOST IN THE BATTLE OF ATTITUDES...
TWO PEOPLE CAN FACE THE SAME TRAP: 1) STUMBLING BLOCK OF NEGATIVISM AND PESSIMISTIC FACTS THAT WILL BRING DOOM AND GLOOM...
OR 2) THEY WILL LEARN TO USE THIS PROBLEM AS A STEPPING STONE TO VICTORY...
REVILED? One person with accepting This REVILING ATTITUDE can develop a RAZOR BLADE TONGUE leaving everyone in the path HURT. Their VERBAL ABUSE will damage many. As they tend to speak against others in a critical, judgment, or insulting way...
Hebrews 12:12 (KJV) Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Hebrews 12:12(MSG) So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! 13 Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it! 14 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. 15 Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.
JUDGE NOT TEAMS WITH FORGIVENESS...
I read another reading called:
MURDERER:
I CRUCIFIED A SOUL TODAY.
I MURDERED IT WITH MY WORDS.
YOU SEE VOID NOW IS ONE TESTIMONY, MY TONGUE DID NAIL TO A TREE.
I have always been AMAZED BY ATTITUDES...
One person is scarred so bad that they have trouble with long term friendships and relationships with in their family, marriage, children, and their jobs... They carry emotional, mental and spiritual scars that become deep hindrances to making progress.
Yet another person faces the same scars and learns to forgive, adapt and over come...
Luke 6:37 (MSG) "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier.
CHARLES SWINDOLL wrote "STRENGTHENING YOUR GRIP" ... SAID:
The longer I live the more I realize the impact of ATTITUDES on life. ATTITUDE to me is more important than mere facts. Attitudes are more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, then what other people think, say or do.
Attitudes are more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
Attitudes will make or break a company, a church or a home.
The remarkable thing is that we have choices every day regarding our attitudes that we will embrace for that day.
You cannot change your past --- WE CANNOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WILL ACT IN CERTAIN WAYS... WE CANNOT CHANGE THE INEVITABLE. THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO IS PLAY ON THE ONE STRING THAT WE HAVE... THAT IS OUR ATTITUDE. I AM CONVINCED THAT LIFE IS 10% WHAT HAPPENS TO ME AND 90% HOW I REACT TO IT.AND SO IT IS WITH YOU...WE ARE IN CHARGE OF OUR ATTITUDES!
PART OF YOUR ATTITUDE THAT DETERMINES YOUR ALTITUDE WILL EXPRESS ITSELF IN AN AURA... PROJECTION...
AURA (OR -a) the energy field that is held to emanate from a living person... vibs,
Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
What kind of image are you projecting to others?
ARE YOU PROJECTING THE AURA YOU DESIRE? Does your attitude say: I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE THINKS OR SAYS? Be honest with yourself--- WHAT KIND OF AURA DOES GOD DESIRE FOR YOU?
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
This is part #1
