30 Sep 90% (Because Life is 10% What Happens to You and 90% How You Respond to It)

Posted at 08:00h in Uncategorized by

Over the last few weeks we began to discuss “6 Attitude Axioms”:

1.Our attitude determines our approach to life (Prov. 23:7).

2. Our attitude determines our relationship with people (Rom. 14:19).

3. Our attitude can be the difference between success and failure (Phil. 4:13).

4. Our attitude will determine how we approach our daily tasks (Ps. 118:24).

5. Attitude can give us an uncommonly positive perspective (James 1:2-4).

6. Religion makes for a bad attitude, but relationship makes for a good attitude (Luke 15:11-32).

This week, let’s continue…

A few years ago on our Easter services (we had four), I simply wore a pink shirt. A few days after our Easter service, I received an anonymous letter. In this letter the person who sent it railed on me for wearing a pink shirt and that this shirt was responsible for keeping people from coming to Jesus (I wish I was kidding!). Apparently he or she didn’t stick around that weekend as over 1,700 were ministered to and 26 people gave their lives to Jesus! I affectionately refer to this person as the “pink nazi”. Modern day Pharisees still exist!

Everybody knows the story of the prodigal son. The younger brother, of course, got into the sins of the flesh and sowed his “wild oats”. However I would like to focus on the older brother as he was the poster child for a bad, religious attitude! When the younger brother returned home, the older brother’s religious attitude began to surface.

In Luke 15:29 the Bible tells us, “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.” Look at the two primary religious attitudes:

1. Self-importance

Notice the emphasis on “I…I…I”. In other words, I did everything right. The Bible tells us to rejoice with them that rejoice (see Rom. 12:12-15). It’s easy to rejoice with others when you realize none of us receive from God based on what we’ve done. All of us receive from God based on what He’s done.

2. Self-pity

Here the older brother laments in angry words, “You never threw me a party!” I’ve found in life you can’t be both powerful and pitiful. Send an RSVP to your own pity party. After all, only you and the devil show up to this party anyway!

Remember this…

  • Complainers are not obtainers!
  • Whiners are not winners!
  • Excusers are losers!
  • Moaners are loaners!
  • Grumblers are fumblers!
  • Gripers get the vipers!
  • Pitiful is not powerful!

In the aforementioned story, we always focus on the younger brother…the proverbial “prodigal son”. However in this story there were really two prodigals:

  • The younger brother who committed sins of the flesh
  • The older brother who committed sins of the attitude

No question about it, sin will keep you from the joy of the Lord. However, just like the older brother, you can be moral but have a bad attitude and it will keep you outside of the joy of the Lord! In the end, there was really only one prodigal outside the Father’s house…the one with the stinkin’ religious attitude!