Matthew 5:3 Those
people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy, because the kingdom
of heaven belongs to them.
Joe Theismann enjoyed an illustrious 12-year career as quarterback
of the Washington Redskins. He led the team to two Super Bowl
appearances--winning in 1983 before losing the following year. When a leg
injury forced him out of football in 1985, he was entrenched in the record
books as Washington's all-time leading passer. Still, the tail end of
Theismann's career taught him a bitter lesson: I got stagnant. I thought the team revolved around me. I should have
known it was time to go when I didn't care whether a pass hit Art Monk in the 8
or the 1 on his uniform. When we went back to the Super Bowl, my approach had
changed. I was griping about the weather, my shoes, practice times, everything.
Today I wear my two rings--the winner's ring from Super Bowl XVII and the
loser's ring from Super Bowl XVIII. The difference in those two rings lies in
applying oneself and not accepting anything but the best.
Philippians 2.1-4,14-16 Therefore if there is any consolation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one
mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you
look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
14 Do all things without complaining and
disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God
without fault in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast
the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not
run in vain or labored in vain.
I.
YOUR ATTITIUDE IS A DECISION: CONSCIOUSLY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY
a. A chicken lays one egg and cackles about it,
while a salmon lays ten thousand eggs and doesn’t say a word. A former heavyweight boxing champion
boasted, “I am the greatest.” The apostle Paul boasted, “I am the least.”
b. A boy was skating on one skate. A man saw him and said, “Don’t you know that
you’re supposed to skate on 2 skates?”
The boy said, “Someone stole my other skate, and that’s why I’m skating
on one.” As the man walked away, the
boy yelled, “Hey Mister! Did you know
that you can still have a lot of fun on just one skate?” You have a choice. You can get mad at the person who stole your
skate, or you can keep having fun on just one skate.
Philippians 4:8-9 ESV
Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything
worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be
with you.
II.
YOUR ATTITUDE EFFECTS EVERY PART OF YOUR LIFE
Proverbs 23:7 For as
he thinketh in his heart, so is he . . .
·
A grouchy man
walked into a cafe. After sitting down,
he couldn't find on the menu what he was hungry for. Ten minutes passed and
still no one had waited on him. Finally he yelled to a waitress who was walking
by, "Hey! Do you serve crabs here?"
She said, "Yes, sir. I'll serve you in a minute."
III.
YOUR ATTITUDE IS CONTAGIOUS
Galatians 5:9 A little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Michael is the kind of guy you love to
hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were
any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee
was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the
positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so
one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don’t get it! You can’t be
a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Michael replied,
"Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You
can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I
choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to
be a victim or.... I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their
complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the
positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it’s not that easy," I
protested.
"Yes, it is," Michael said.
"Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every
situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how
people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The
bottom line: It’s your choice how you live your life." I reflected on what
Michael said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own
business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice
about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Michael
was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications
tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was
released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about
six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied,
"If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined
to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the
accident took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was the
well-being of my soon to be born daughter, "Michael replied.”Then, as I
lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live
or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren’t you scared? Did
you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued, "...the
paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when
they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the
doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "he’s a
dead man. I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I
asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me. Said
Michael. "She asked if I was allergic to anything.”Yes, I replied."
The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a
deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over their laughter, I told them,
"I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his
amazing attitude. I learned from him that everyday we have the choice to live
fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. "Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own." - Matthew 6:34 After all today is the tomorrow you worried about
yesterday. Are you like Michael?
Conclusion: JESUS
HAD A HUMBLE, SERVING ATTITUDE: He is our role model for Attitude.
