Winston Churchill said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Albert Einstein said,
“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” Zig Ziglar remarked that “Your attitude,
not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” Martha Washington said, “The greater part of our
happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.” Captain Jack
Sparrow quipped, “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the
problem.” Truly, attitude is everything.
The Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7). “Guard your heart
with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life,” (Prov. 4:23). What we think about our
circumstances, and how we respond to them, becomes more important than the circumstances
themselves. Happiness is not about obtaining material things, or even about reaching some desired
status. It’s about our attitude throughout life. What we are depends on what we think, and being
happy starts with developing a good attitude.
When Jesus laid out the core of the gospel message in what is known as the Sermon on the
Mount, (Matt. 5-7), he focused not so much on what we should do, but on how we should think.
He explained that what makes a person truly happy or “blessed” is a matter of attitude. In fact, the
very first section of the Sermon on the Mount is usually referred to as the beattitudes. There are
eight or nine of these, depending on how you group them, but the message of each of them is clear:
Happiness is essentially a matter of attitude.
For example, Jesus said that happy people are “poor in spirit,” (5:3). They are humble, not
arrogant, or proud. Happy people know how and why to mourn, (5:4). Happy people desperately
seek to do what is right, they are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and they are victims (yes,
victims) of persecution “for righteousness sake,” (5:5-12). Each of these beatitudes focuses upon
attitude. Each reveals that true happiness is a matter of outlook, it’s about controlling the way we
think and react to the circumstances around us.
As we think deeply about the beattitudes, we gradually adjust to the reality that happiness,
peace, and contentment in life depend more on how we think within ourselves than upon our
outward circumstances. Why are some people happier than others? Why are some of the happiest
people on earth also some of the most beleaguered and insignificant by worldly standards? Could
it be that in our desperate search for happiness and fulfillment, most people have overlooked the
fact that the true key to happiness is within each of us?
Think of the difference it will make if I go through my day expecting good things to happen
to me and regarding my interactions with other people as a true blessing. If I take the circumstances
presented to me with gratitude and humility, rather than bitterness or resentment. If I view my life
as a privilege, rather than a burden. And if I consider myself blessed by God, rather than a victim
of others. Optimism wins out in the end.
When we were children, we had much better attitudes. We did not expect and demand so
much. We had not become so rigid and spoiled. Now that we are grown, we need to work hard at
becoming little children again. It’s all about attitude. It’s about being able to see the joy and
excitement in all the little presentments of daily life. The problems we face are not the problem.
The problem is our attitude about the problems!
Over the next several weeks in our Sunday morning sermons we’re going to be taking a deep
dive into the beattitudes. We do this to make life better. We do it to learn to be little children again.
And we do it to understand the core basis of the gospel itself. Life is about attitude, it’s about what
we think about life. So we have to train ourselves and remind ourselves to think correctly! I hope
these lessons will be helpful in developing what the Bible calls “the mind of Christ,” (1 Cor. 2:16;
Phil. 2:5).
Even if we get all of the actions and outward observances exactly right, if we lose our
Christ-like attitude along the way, we lose everything. This becomes the most basic and
fundamental aspect of Christianity, because attitude truly is everything.
Working on My Attitude
