Attitude

Attitude No Root, No Fruit
Have you ever wondered why you do what you do?
One former Navy pilot tells how he was living a wilder life than he knew he should live. He decided his problem was that he was being led astray by his friends in flight training. So he arranged to finish his work in the program early and be transferred to another field nearby. Yet, it wasn't long, he said, before he was back in the same old bars, with the same girls, just with different friends. One night out-on-the-town he wondered, "Why do I do this?" And he realized, "Because I like to."
Before a person becomes a Christian-I mean a real Christian, not just someone who says he is-his "want-to" is broken. He is not interested in God. He is bored by church and by reading his Bible. He cannot "make" himself "want to" do right and he cannot "make" himself "want not" to do wrong. When a person is born again, God repairs his "want-to." Even though he still feels the pull of temptation, he will have a new set of desires. He will love God and want to talk to God in prayer and see what God has to say to him in His Word, the Bible. He wants to be around other people who love God; church attendance becomes meaningful. There is a new desire to obey God.
Why do we do what we do? The answer is simple: we do what we do because of what we are. It's like fruit trees. Apple trees bear apples, pear trees produce pears, peach trees grow peaches. The fruit is the natural result of the nature of the tree. I suppose you could tie apples to a peach tree, but that would not make it an apple tree. In the same way, adding religious activities to one's schedule doesn't make one a Christian. Just as the fruit of the tree naturally flows from the nature of the tree, even so the attitudes, words, and actions of our lives reveal the true nature of ourselves.
Jesus said, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit....Therefore, by their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:17, Matthew 7:20). A Choice Each Day
Charles Swindoll said: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string that we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes." A Time to Laugh
In William Barclay's daily devotional Daily Celebration, appears this little story:
"There was a little Indian girl at school today," announced my son proudly.
"Does she speak English?" I asked.
"No," came the quick reply, "but it doesn't matter because she laughs in English!"
Laughter is the universal language. You can laugh in any language and it will be understood. Keep laughing!
If you can laugh at it, you can live with it. Laughter is to life what salt is to an egg. Laughter is the cheapest luxury man has. It stirs up the blood, expands the chest, electrifies the nerves, clears away the cobwebs from the brain, and gives the whole system a cleaning rehabilitation.

Sight
"Wouldn't you hate to wear glasses all the time?" asked a small boy of his playmate. "No-o-o," the other boy answered slowly, "not if I had the kind grandma wears. She sees how to fix a lot of things, and she sees lots of nice things to do on rainy days, and she sees when folks are tired and sorry, and what will make them feel better, and she always sees what you meant to do even if you haven't got things just right. I asked her one day how she could see that way all the time, and she said it was the way she learned to look at things as she grew older. So it must be her glasses." A Changed Attitude
It was Napoleon Bonaparte who, early in his life, said, "God is on the side of the biggest artillery." Years later, when he was exiled on an island, he reversed his opinion, and conceded, "Man proposes, but God disposes." Napoleon learned the attitude of "If it is the Lord's will" the hard way. May we learn it now.

Future Hope
Not only does the Bible contribute to our belief in the best is yet to be, but the things of our daily lives reveal that this is true, too. It is this belief that keeps the scientist, inventor, and researcher busy.
The best car hasn't been developed.
The final cure hasn't been discovered.
The safest plane hasn't been produced.
The best song hasn't been written.
The best product is not on the market.
The best church hasn't been grown.
The best sales presentation has not been perfected.
The best class hasn't been taught.
The best way hasn't been found.
The best...is yet to be.
The phrase "The best is yet to be" is a positive affirmation that gives life direction. It provides hope: there is more to come in life. It's the spirit of expectancy: good things are going to happen. It is seen through the eyes that look for opportunities that will be greater than ever. It is received through proper planning and work. Desire is the fuel that makes it a reality. THE BEST IS YET TO BE!

Resignation
Not everyone is ready to accept the fact that the best is yet to be. This is true for a number of reasons.
Some are content to live in the past. They delight in the "good old days."
Many are content to live mediocre lives. They are content to drift from day to day.
Insecurity hinders many persons from believing that the best is yet to be. They want to hold on to their position or things. They will never know the excitement of launching out by faith, or waiting for the great things of tomorrow.
Negative thinking guides the decisions and attitudes of many people. They choose to accept the premise that the worst is yet to come. They will get what they wish for if they are not careful.
Scores have no goals for their lives. They don't know where they are going today, much less tomorrow.
A few think they don't have any needs. They are pleased with the way things are in their lives (cf. Revelation 3:17). There is always room for improvement in everyone's life.
Fear is always a major enemy to progress. It also hinders a person from becoming excited about the future (cf. 2 Timothy 1:7).

Barriers
At a coastal aquarium, a savage barracuda quickly tried to attack the mackerel but was stopped by the partition. After bumping his nose repeatedly, he finally quit trying. Later, the partition was removed, but the barracuda would swim only to the point where the barrier had been and stop. He thought it was still there! Many people are like this. They move forward until they reach an imaginary barrier, but then stop because of a self-imposed attitude of limitation. When Everything Material Is Lost
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan tells of a man whose shop had been burned in the great Chicago fire. He arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table. He set it up amid the charred debris and above it placed this optimistic sign, "Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning."

Thankfulness
When Matthew Henry was robbed, that very night he prayed:
"I thank Thee, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed."

You Find What You Look for!
It is said that two kinds of birds fly over the California deserts: the hummingbird and the vulture.
All the vulture can see is rotting meat because that is all he looks for. He thrives on that diet. But the hummingbird ignores the carcasses and the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, he looks for the tiny blossoms of the cactus flowers. He buzzes around until he finds the colorful blooms almost hidden from view by the rocks. Each bird finds what it is looking for.
What are you looking for? Better still-what are you finding? What you are finding tells what you are really looking for. Your expectations of life will determine your outcome.

Sacrifice
A chaplain was speaking to a soldier on a cot in a hospital. "You have lost an arm in the great cause," said the chaplain.
"No," said the soldier with a smile. "I didn't lose it-I gave it."
In that same way, Jesus did not lose His life. He gave it purposefully. "He died that we might be forgiven and go at last to heaven."

Christian Contentment
As an elderly Christian lady with arthritis sat by her front window watching the traffic go by, she said, "I don't know what I'd do without that traffic to keep me interested."
Later on she was moved to a room in the rear where she could no longer see the traffic from the window. She conceded, "I like this better. I can watch the sweetest little children next door playing in the backyard."
At last she was moved to the slums of the city. To a friend she said, "Come and see my beautiful view-my beautiful view of the sky!"

Adjustment
During World War II General Creighton Abrams and his command were surrounded by the enemy to the east, west, north and south. General Abrams said, "Gentlemen, for the first time in the history of this campaign, we are now in a position to attack the enemy in any direction."
What has you surrounded, tied down, fenced in? All of us have limitations in life. Some we will have to bear with while others the Lord wants us to break through! It will only happen if we give ourselves an attitude adjustment.

Adventurous Boldness
Somebody said that it couldn't be done.
But he with a chuckle replied,
"Maybe it couldn't, but
he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried."
So he buckled right in
with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it!

Trials and Tribulations
Take a piece of wax, a piece of meat, some sand, some clay, and some shavings, put them on the fire and see how they react. Each of them is being acted upon by the same agent, yet...the wax melts, the meat fries, the sand dries up, the clay hardens, the shavings blaze.
Just so, under identical influence of circumstances and environment one man is made better, and he becomes stronger, and another becomes weaker, while another withers away.
This explains why one hears the Word of God and is made better. Still another hears the same thing and is made angry. Not so much what is done to us, but what we do, determines our destiny. Take heed how you hear and act.

Sour Grapes
There is a fable concerning a fox who kept leaping up at some inviting looking grapes. Unable to reach them despite his best efforts, he came to the conclusion that they did look rather sour. He walked away without pangs of covetousness.
Be as smart as a fox if you want to be happy. Consider the things that you cannot obtain as "sour grapes."

Getting Along Without It
A nurse was showing a patient to his room. "Now," she said, "we want you to be happy and enjoy yourself while here, so if there is anything you want that we haven't got, let me know and I'll show you how to get along without it."

Spiritual Sight
The hymnwriter Fanny Crosby gave us more than 6,000 gospel songs. Although blinded by an illness at the age of six weeks, she never became bitter. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"
One of Miss Crosby's hymns was so personal that for years she kept it to herself. Kenneth Osbeck, author of several books on hymnology, says its revelation to the public came about this way: "One day at a Bible conference in Northfield, Massachusetts, Miss Crosby was asked by D. L. Moody to give a personal testimony. At first she hesitated, then quietly rose and said, 'There is one hymn I have written which has never been published. I call it my soul's poem. Sometimes when I am troubled, I repeat it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart.' She then recited while many wept, 'Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing; but oh, the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King! And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story-saved by grace!'" At the age of 95, Fanny Crosby passed into glory and saw the face of Jesus.
That's the sure hope of every child of God!

Like Pharoah, or Job?
What can make the difference in how we face our everyday trials, even our little ones, is our attitude. We can have the attitude of the Pharaoh of Egypt, who, when confronted by Moses and the ten plagues from God, grumbled, and griped, and became stubborn, causing more woes to come upon him. Or, that of Job, who at the loss of all his possessions, even his own health, succumbed to the will of God and remained faithful. That type of commitment to Christ will give us eternal life, happiness and joy.
Remember: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). The Importance of Attitude
A Scotsman was an extremely hard worker and expected all the men under him to be the same. His men would tease him, "Scotty, don't you know that Rome wasn't built in a day?" "Yes," he would answer. "I know that. But I wasn't foreman on that job."

Peace
Among the students at a college was a young man on crutches. Although not a handsome fellow, he had a talent for friendliness and optimism, and he earned many scholastic honors as well as the respect of his classmates.
One day a new student asked him what had caused him to become so badly crippled. "Infantile paralysis," replied the genial young man.
"With a misfortune like that," exclaimed the other fellow, "how can you face the world so confidently and so happily?"
"Oh," replied the polio victim, "the disease never touched my heart." My Future
Someone said, "My past is gone; my present is passing; my future is arriving."
The best thing about the future is that it comes upon us by degrees, a day at a time. We can manage that! Whatever it holds, my future is mine: if it be fair weather, let me bask in the sun; if it be storms, let me bend with the wind.
The future belongs to those who can make adjustments.
"Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow" (Numbers 11:18).

Zeal
The Bible provides a sound basis for enthusiasm. Here is how the Apostle Paul states it: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and NOT unto man" (Colossians 3:23); "always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58); "zealous unto good works" (Titus 2:14); "Your zeal hath encouraged many" (2 Corinthians 9:2).
In Revelation the Apostle John commanded the Laodiceans to be "zealous, therefore, and repent" (Revelation 2:19).
It is interesting that "zeal" and "zealous" come from a Greek word which means "to boil; seethe." An enthusiastic person boils inside; it spills over to peak performance.
The wise man stated it in these words, "Whatsoever thy hands findeth to do, do it with all thy might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
Some people verbalize their inability to be enthusiastic. I don't believe there is a person who hasn't been excited or enthusiastic about something. A raise in salary, an award, vacation, promotion, birth of a child, opportunity, or some other event in life creates zeal by its very nature. What we need in the church is enthusiasm for the mission God has given His people. This guarantees peak performance.

Roses among Thorns
Benjamin Franklin once said, "The sentence which has most influenced my life is, 'Some persons grumble because God placed thorns among roses. Why not thank God because He placed roses among thorns?' I first read it when but a mere lad. Since that day it has occupied a front room in my life and has given it an optimistic trend." To be meek is to have a disposition to see the roses among the thorns, rather than to complain about the thorns among the roses. Which do you see? Your answer will help you to judge whether you possess that meekness of which our Savior spoke.

Seeing the Beautiful
A lady, paying an early morning visit to a neighbor, was ushered into a rather untidy room for which her hostess profusely apologized, but her visitor smilingly replied, "I had eyes for nothing but these lovely roses," pointing to a vase of beauties which occupied a prominent place on the table. Just as the eye sees what it looks for, so the soul that is itself beautiful finds all that is best and noblest and most worthy of praise in the men and women. A Healthy Inner Eye
After referring to Himself as the light and life of men, our Lord goes on to say that, for the apprehension of light, a corresponding and appropriate organ is required. This organ is the eye. The eye that receives light for the whole body gives light to the whole body-the light in which all its activities are carried on-and may therefore be called the lamp or candle of the body. But the amount of light received and distributed depends on the power and accuracy of the eye that receives it. The organ may be diseased. It may prevent the access of the light or pervert it so that we do not see things as they are, or even in extreme cases do not see them at all. If this solitary candle is put out, how profound must be the darkness in which we walk! If it is obscured or distorted, how radical and misleading must be the errors into which it betrays us. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that we should keep the one organ which receives and imparts light-the light of all our seeing, all our working, all our progress-in a healthy condition.
In all this we have been dealing only with the application of the passage of Luke 11:33-36. For while speaking of the eye of the body, it is obvious that it was the eye of the soul that our Lord had in mind. The spiritual part in us has its perceptive faculty as does the physical part, and it is even more important that the spiritual candle should be lifted to its due place and kept burning brightly than that the physical candle should be placed on the lampstand and not hidden in a cellar or under a bushel basket.
If then we turn from the physical to the spiritual application of the passage, what is it that our Lord is teaching us in these words? I believe He is saying that a healthy, trained, unprejudiced understanding is required for the due apprehension and appreciation of spiritual truth, and that the health and power of the understanding by which we receive and impart the truth depends mainly on the establishing of right attitudes toward the hearing and sifting of God's Word as revealed in the Scriptures. A desire to know and follow the truth at whatever cost is a prerequisite to "seeing" the truth. A Good Relationship Made the Difference
A girl who received a book from a young man, read it and said, "What a tiresome book!" The young man said, "Did you notice who wrote it?" She looked at the front page and saw that her lover was the author. She began to read it again, and at the end she said, "I never read a greater book." What made the difference? Her relationship to the writer. Look at God. Is He good or evil? It all depends on whether you are single in heart or evil in heart. If you look at Jesus, you may see Him either as a deceiver or as a Savior. What makes the difference? Your attitude, your eye.

Drive or Drought
When you lose hope of doing better, you lose everything that makes life worth living. A great artist was once asked, "What's the best picture you've ever painted?" "The next one," he replied confidently. But another artist was heard to lament, "Too bad I failed," though he was at the very height of his glory. "Why do you say that?" asked a friend of his in astonishment. "Because I've lost any hope of improvement," he said. He was right; the person who has stopped hoping has truly failed. The Discouraged Christian
Many times the Christian wishes for death in the face of difficulties and trials. He is like the poor man carrying a load of sticks who, when he became tired, sat down on a bank, and laying his sticks on the ground said, "I am sick and tired of this. I wish death would come to relieve me." Instantly, Death slipped up and said, "Here am I; what do you want of me?" "I want you to help me put this bundle of sticks on my back again," said the astonished pilgrim. We are all prone to think that our load of sticks is heavier-that our road more difficult and our enemies more daring than any other Christian's.

Wrong Attitude
Many of us Christians are like the little girl who started fighting with a friend. Her mother who heard about the quarrel talked with her little girl about it trying to show her she was wrong and her need of asking God's forgiveness. Accordingly, when the little one kneeled down to pray, she humbly asked, "O God, please forgive me for getting angry and quarreling with Charlotte." So far so good. But the wrong disposition was still there, for the child went on, "And make Charlotte come to me and ask my forgiveness. O Lord, give her no rest until she is sorry and comes and tells me so!"

Expecting Evil
Don't be like the woman who one day felt unusually well. "How are you, lady?" someone asked. "Today I am quite well, but tomorrow I am sure I am going to suffer again," she sighed. It is a terrible thing to expect evil that may never come your way. The expectation of evil kills many more than the evil itself.