What Does It Mean to Have a “Godly” Attitude? Philippians 1-4 May 22 – June 12, 2006
Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (NKJV) “In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.” (NCV) “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.” himself.” (Message) “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” (NIV) “Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.” (NLT)
What is attitude? How do we know the attitude that Jesus had? How can we possibly expect to think and act like Christ Jesus. Jesus. He is the living son of God – how can we “normal” Christians expect to live up to the example that Christ set? Simply, we cannot do it alone. Only with Christ’s help can we achieve the attitude and mindset that God wants us to have. Back to the question: what is attitude? Attitude is one’s perspective or outlook of life, one’s disposition or state of mind. A positive attitude leads to a good life no matter the circumstance – a Godly attitude leads to glory in heaven. Being a Christian doesn’t mean only going to church every Sunday or reading the bible; being a true Christian means having the heart and attitude of Jesus. Attitude Makes All the Difference Jim Smith went to church on Sunday morning. He heard the organist miss a note during the prelude, and he winced. He saw a teenager talking when everybody was supposed to "bow in prayer." He felt like the usher was watching to see what he put in the offering plate, and it made him boil. He caught the preacher making a slip of the tongue five times in the sermon by actual count. As he slipped out through the side door during the closing hymn, he muttered to himself, "Never again! What a bunch of clods and hypocrites!" Ron Jones went to church on Sunday morning. He heard the organist play an arrangement arrangement of "A Mighty Fortress," Fortress," and he was thrilled by the majesty of it. He heard a young girl take a moment in the service to speak her simple moving message of the difference her faith makes in her life. He was glad to see that his church was sharing in a special offering for the hungry children children of Nigeria. He especially appreciated the sermon that Sunday--it answered a question that had bothered him for a long time. He thought, as he walked out the doors of the church, "How can a man come here and not feel the presence of God?"
Both men went to the same church on the same Sunday morning. Each found what he was looking for. Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations and Quotes
What was the difference between the two men? One man looked at everything as negative as he possibly could while the other found the positive in the things the first man hated. The first man had his mind on his life – and probably the negative aspects of his life – while the second’s mind was on God. How can we learn to be more like the second man? The first step to achieving a Godly attitude is knowing what a “Godly” attitude means in the context of our everyday lives. Taking a look at my recent study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians:
I. Humility “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippian others.” Philippians s 2: 3-4
II. Humbleness Humbleness “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant , being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians cross.” Philippians 2: 6-8 Humility and Humbleness have similar meanings meanings and can be treated as one. Humble is defined as thinking lowly of one's self; claiming little for one's self; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; thinking one's self ill-deserving or unworthy, when judged by the demands of God; lowly; weak; modest. Humility and humbleness is putting others needs in front of your own and realizing your role as a servant to God. As a Christian you cannot cannot have the attitude that you are better better than nonChristians or that you are in some way better than fellow brothers in Christ. Personally, it is easy for me to be humble when I compare my attitude and actions to those of Christ Jesus. I know that I have a long way to go in realizing a truly Christian attitude. attitude. In order to become more humble, I need to remember Jesus attitude as explained explained in the Gospels. Jesus broke broke bread bread with the lowly people in society – the sinners, the poor, and those not liked. I need to learn from Christ’s example and become more humble.
III. Faithful “Do all things without grumbling or questioning , that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” Philippians Philippians 2: 14-15
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7 Faith is a feeling or belief, that something is true, real, or will happen; Belief and trust in the Christian god's promises revealed through Christ in the New Testament. Faith is something that is hard to maintain in day to day life. Sometimes work and school makes me lose my faith – maybe not lose it but certainly forget about it. Life can get in the way of true life – the life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. The only way to maintain faith is to keep God in my mind always. In day to day life, the way to achieve this is through daily prayer and reading the bible. I am not always diligent to daily prayer and bible reading, so what I need to is simple – find a time and place for devotion every day.
IV. IV. Thankful T hankful “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thank in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Th 5:16 Thankful is being full of appreciation and gratitude. I think it is human nature to focus on what you need or want instead of what you already have. Being truly thankful means appreciated appreciated what what you have. Being thankful isn’t isn’t difficult – once you realize all the things God has given you, it becomes to easy to be thankful. The difficulty lies in getting in the frame of mind to be thankful and positive rather than being down because you think you should be getting paid more or you want that new computer or mp3 player.
V. Obedient “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death …” …” Philippians Philippians 3:10 Obedience is being willing to comply with the commands, orders, or instructions of those in authority. Jesus was obedient to God by dying for our sins on the cross. How can I be obedient? The first step is knowing what God expects of me. This can be attained through consistent, thoughtful bible study. Second, I need to take what I know God expects of me and apply to my daily life. Lastly, I need to have an attitude of obedience – in other words, I do what God expects of me with a good attitude like the attitude Jesus took during his final days on earth.
VI. Caring “Let you gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Philippian near.” Philippians s 4:5 Caring means being concerned or having responsibility responsibility for others. others. Jesus gave great examples of what it means to care for others. Using those examples, I need to care
more for others instead of just myself. This means making time for others and having a good attitude while helping and caring for others. Jesus’ attitude is also shown by the type of man he was and his actions while on earth: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right , whatever is pure, whatever is lovely , whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians things.” Philippians 4: 8 Applying a Christ-like attitude into one’s life is no easy task. Attitude encapsulates encapsulates everything in our daily lives from our relationships with those around us to our personal outlook about our jobs and school. Many of the above mentioned character traits of Jesus go against everything that we are taught in mainstream western western culture. It is my belief that happiness and satisfaction have more to do with attitude than circumstance. circumstance. A positive, Christ-like attitude is needed to enjoy life at its fullest potential and to help others around you.
Prayer 1. PRAISE Lord, thank you for providing me with the opportunity to study the bible and learn more about your word. Lord, you have provided me with so much ability, intelligence, intelligence, and will. I thank you for helping me through the difficult times in my life – I especially give you praise for helping me with school and at work. Lastly, thank you for giving Jesus as an example for what our attitude should be.
2. PASSAGE (Bible Reading) In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians I learned about Jesus’ attitude and how having a Godly attitude can change the lives of people around you. Paul served as an inspiration, not only for the Philippians but many early Christian churches.
3. PURPOSE Father, help me to realize that my purpose is your purpose. Lord, help me to help others and to become an inspiration for others.
4. PROVISION Give me what I need to live in this world, and help me to not be greedy.
5. PARDON Forgive me for my weakness to earthly desires. Help me to overcome my sin by putting sorrow in my heart and help me to take steps to living a pure life.
6. PEOPLE Lord, forgive those that do not realize what they are doing. Help guide our nation and our troops in the middle east to do what is best for You.
7. PROTECTION Lord, protect protect me in my daily activities and be in my heart always. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
