Paul's Ministry ManualSample

  

Attitude Is Key 

I was once hired by a company to work in one of their drafting offices and worked there for eleven years. They had a large engineering staff. Before that I had worked in a small office with only a few employees, so this was my first experience in a larger group. I noticed a wide variety of attitudes. Two employees could be given similar assignments, and their attitudes would be so different. Sam would quietly go about his work, and Joe would start his complaining.

Our attitude is much more important than our circumstances. It is not the result of our circumstances, but it does determine our response to them. This is evident in what the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Cor. 6:1-12. Here is how he describes his circumstances. He says he lives “in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger” (4-5). But immediately in the same sentence he follows that description with these words, “in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God” (6-7). That is his attitude. 

These two things seem so incompatible, but they are not. The apostle chose a godly attitude in the midst of ungodly circumstances. His circumstances did not determine his attitude; his attitude governed his response to his circumstances. Are circumstances sometimes so overwhelming that this kind of response is nearly impossible? Yes. And God does not hold us to a standard of perfection. But He does give the strength to maintain that kind of attitude over and over, to one after another. And He gives that strength to so many in the church around the world.

A few years ago, Philip Yancey wrote, “In my own travels overseas, I have noticed a striking difference in the wording of prayers. When difficulties come, Christians in affluent countries tend to pray, ‘Lord, take this trial away from us!’ I have heard persecuted Christians and some who live in very poor countries pray instead, ‘Lord, give us the strength to bear this trial.’” Yancey was intrigued by this, and he asked an experienced missionary if Christians in China did pray for a change in restrictive government policies. The missionary replied that he had never heard a Chinese Christian pray for relief. Apparently they have a different attitude.

How do I pray? Do I ask for relief from hard things, or do I ask for strength to bear them? The answer to that question can tell me a lot about my attitude. The key is to recognize that our attitude is not the result of our circumstances, but it does determine our response to them.

Prayer: Lord, guide me and strengthen me in adopting a biblical attitude, especially in hard times, especially as I face trials. Grant me, Lord, a new perspective, a larger view more in line with Your Word. Let me take my difficulties as learning experiences, as times of growth in godliness.