As we continue our Three Things You Can Control series, those three things being our allegiances, our attitudes and our efforts, today we turn to our attitude. Many years ago John Maxwell wrote a book about attitude. In it he said that our attitude determines our altitude. In other words, how “high” we go in life is dependent on our attitude. That’s because we can’t control what happens to us in life, but we can control what happens in us, how we respond to what happens.
We see this truth all the time when tragedy strikes a family, or a community or a nation. Some respond with fear, despair and desperation, while others respond with courage, hope, and determination. What’s the difference? At the base of it all the difference is attitude. Our allegiances certainly help in determining our attitude, but are also separate from them. I have seen folks who trust Jesus fall apart in certain situations, when others move resolutely forward. Once again, the difference is attitude. When any situation occurs we get to choose the attitude with which we respond.
That is not to say that each of us will always choose the same attitude in every situation, but over time our attitude grows and develops just as we grow and develop physically, emotionally and spiritually. The attitudes we “feed” grow stronger, and the attitudes we ignore grow weaker. That’s precisely why I say we can control our attitudes. For example, let’s say we live in a community that experiences devastating floods, and you and I lose our homes as a result. They are totally destroyed. How would we respond in that situation? Obviously, many variables determine how we would respond, but the three things we would be able to control in the situation would be our allegiance, our attitude and our effort.
If our allegiance was to our material goods, then such a loss would be absolutely devastating. If our attitude was one of despair, because we would lose everything, then we may not put much effort forward to move on with our lives. We may simply sit and grieve. On the other hand if our allegiance was to God in Jesus Christ, we would recognize that while we had lost every “thing” we own, we hadn’t lost anything of ultimate value. I’m not minimizing the inconvenience, the sense of personal devastation and loss, because in the flood we would surely have lost personal mementos of relationships we hold dear that could never be replaced. But at the end of the day our attitude would be one of hope. The reason I say that is because God gives us hope in such situations.
That attitude may not be the first one to surface. I have been through a number of devastating circumstances over the years, both personally and vicariously through the families I have served as a pastor. Depending on the depth of the loss, and the era in my life when the loss occurred, my first attitude may have been anger, or despair. But those have always been replaced by hope, gratitude, determination, and other attitudes that have permitted me to move forward. Even the great prophet, Elijah, succumbed to an attitude of despair when Queen Jezebel told him she was going to kill him. While that may seem rational, he had just experienced the greatest demonstration of God’s presence and power in his life just hours before. We would think Elijah would have heard Jezebel’s claim and laughed, or at the very least have responded with calm confidence that God would protect him.
Instead, Elijah ran. He ran for 40 days, and all that while he asked God to take his life. He forgot that because of his allegiance to the one, true and living God, he could face any threat with the assurance of ultimate victory, even if that victory meant an eternal one after this life ended. Elijah shows us what James told us about him in chapter 5 of his book: Elijah was a man like us. I’ve alway found great comfort in those words. Elijah wasn’t made out of some special genetic material. He was a common, ordinary man like us. He served an extraordinary God. His allegiance is what made him great. The same is true for each of us. As leaders we must always remember who we serve, then we will gain an ability to serve with humility, confidence, assurance and hope regardless of the situation.
So how is your attitude toward life in general and toward difficult times in particular? Do you see life as a long series of unwinnable obstacles, or as an experience set in front of us by God? Are you ready to face this day with confidence and hope, because you know God is leading you as you lead others? Or are you just hoping to get through the day? Whatever attitude you bring to this moment the good news is you can change it or keep it. It’s up to you, because we get to control our attitude.
Here’s to leading better by choosing attitudes that will overcome the obstacles we’ll face-today!