Choose Your Attitude

When I am working with my little people each day, the concept of attitude comes up regularly. I expend a great deal of effort to convey to them that they are not in control of what others do, but they do have a choice in how they will respond to other people or situations.

Still, they come and tattle and say that someone is doing something to them. They whine and complain and feel hard done by when things are not as they should be. Some students get mired in the feeling of injustices done to them to the point where they are exceedingly unhappy and unproductive.

As I watch these attitudes unfold, I am saddened. So much of the grief in our classroom is preventable. It hurts to see poor attitudes being detrimental to my students’ well-being.

I am sure God is laughing right now as I comment on my students less than stellar attitudes when He sees these same behaviours in me on a regular basis. As I reflect on the matter, I realize how incredibly easy it is in this world to have a bad attitude.

So, what do we do about it? How do we manage to turn our mindset to a more positive one each day?

It would be great if we could just turn on a switch to make things as they should be. Unfortunately, life is not like that. Daily, things happen that cause us frustration. People don’t respond as we think they should. Life just gets messy.

Some of the Apostle Paul’s commentary on attitude is found in 2 Corinthians:

“That is why, for Christ’s sake I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV)

How is possible to delight in all these things? The ESV version uses the words “be content with” these things. Is Paul off the wall asking us to be okay with trauma and hardship?

No, he isn’t. Paul experienced many trials in this life. Yet, through them he learned a valuable lesson – God’s grace is sufficient for any and all circumstances. When we are weak, we are better able to see God’s amazing power at work.

It is a matter of attitude. It is taking our eyes off of ourselves and how we will solve the issue and letting God work where He has placed us. When we stop asking God to change our circumstances and instead ask Him to show us His plan where He has placed us, our attitude shifts.

We can make a choice to rejoice no matter what is going on in our lives. That doesn’t mean we are pretending that everything is okay. It is recognizing that God is our true source of joy. His promise of eternal life with Him is reason to celebrate, even when things in this world are crazy.

It is easy to keep pleading with God to change our circumstances. More challenging is asking God to change our hearts and mindsets to reflect His grace and live in His mercy, no matter what our circumstances.

Many times, in life we feel we have no choice. Yet that is not true. We can make the choice to rejoice in the grace of God and His power made more evident in us when we are weak.

Maybe it is time for an attitude adjustment. Pray about it and see where God takes you.

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