The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say I do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact people will act in a certain way. We cannont change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
I'm convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.
As my wife always says, "you can't change people, only how you react to them." Jesus had one heck of an attitude. To be able to sit with people he prolly wanted to shake and yell "SNAP OUT OF IT!" but he didn't. He met them where they were and changed their lives, our lives, and the course of human history.
may we see to be such beacons of positive attitude and loving empathy.
4 comments:
I'm starting to get worried. You're quoting Chuck Swindoll...
I completely agree that it's our reactions to people and situations that is the key to our success as pastors and as people. I have struggled with learning to be self-differentiated in the last 2 years. I have always been the sort of person who needed lots of approval and affirmation from people to feel ok about myself (just look at my psych eval!!) and I did not respond well to criticism. It has not been easy and I have not "arrived" yet but I am learning every day that shaking people who frustrate me just gives both of us whiplash.
Since we're quoting things today I like this one.
C.S. Lewis said, “Think of me as a fellow-patient in the same hospital who having been admitted a little earlier could give you some advice.”
We're all patients in the same hosptial called earth. Each of us in at a different place in the continuum and process our lives in different ways so sometimes you're the therapist and sometime you're the whackadoodle. The trick is, as you say, to see Christ as the model for meeting people where they are and giving them the tools to change their lives. Very cool!
you, worried? Chuck is a cool guy, gotta read all types ya know!
it's hard to be self-aware cause what you can find has potential to be really painful!
C.S. rules!
see ya around!
So they had a meeting the other night for functional families, and only 2 showed up. They were both in Denial ;)
hey John T, what's the biggest river in Egypt?
da Nile!
harharhar ;-)
you still rule! you insightful sob!
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