It was his problem really, his bad attitude that caused us to not get along. This past Friday I almost got in a fight- yes me, almost getting in a fight. Can you believe it? We were just inches apart when he threw up his arms and acted like he was going to hit me. I didn't flinch, I stood my ground, I didn't back down even an inch- even though he was bigger than me!
Finally he simmered down and walked away. Then Sherri and I shared a good laugh about how funny gorillas are. On our trip to the zoo we spent time watching them and one in particular didn't like me looking at him I guess. He came at me a couple times, first rising up, pounding his chest and then slapping the glass in front of me. We decided he must not have liked me staring him in the eyes as he sat close by or he didn't like my salmon colored shirt. Either way, he was ready to mix it up with me. He had a 'bad-itude'.
This goofy story came to mind again yesterday as I was doing some Bible study. I was listening to a teacher talk about the Israelites and their bad attitudes and murmuring and complaining. James McDonald commented that he thinks the most radical thing God did in the Old Testament was send his people back to the desert to die. And why did He do this? Because of their 'stinking thinking', their complaining and grumbling- because of their murmuring and bad attitudes (with some disobedience thrown in for good measure).
What hit home for me in this message was Pastor McDonald's reference to 1Cor 10:6-10 where Paul explains this particular historical event and punishment was recorded as 'a warning to us'. Think the Old Testament doesn't have meaning today? Think it's a long and dry Jewish history tale? Think again. God tells us through Paul that parts of it were written as a warning- in this case a warning given to us to stop the grumbling and complaining and bad attitudes. God says to you and me today, enough with that bad attitude! Knock it off!
And I can ashamedly tell you that I am Cinderella, that the shoe of a bad attitude fits me more times than I care to admit here. Maybe you've had a gorilla of an attitude here and there, every now and then as well? Maybe? As I thought about this I came up with my own lesson- that the Israelites' bad attitude prevented them from following God into the Promised land and that same bad-itude can keep us from obeying Jesus' command to 'follow me' today. In short, it's impossible to follow when we stop to complain.
The Good News is, the Bible says its okay to have an attitude. We are taught to have a humble, servant, Christ-like attitude in Phil 2:5 and a thankful attitude in Col 2:4. Other verses implore us to have an attitude of faithfulness, determination, encouragement and gentleness. Just for good measure, the Bible also clearly speaks against having an arrogant, foolish and hostile attitude. Maybe these are all a part of a bad complaining attitude.
There's an old positive thinking statement that says, 'your attitude determines your altitude'. When it comes to that final day, no truer statement could be made. Our attitude of complete trust and reliance on Christ and His atoning work on the cross will propel us to incomprehensible altitudes for an eternity. WOW! How cool is that? Cool enough to give each of us a 'glad-itude' for every single day of this short life? I think so. See you positive people Sunday at Gladtonement.
Blest Happy Regards,
kp
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