Rebellion - Own Your Attitude
Before you go any further in this blog, we must get one thing straight. We are accountable for our attitudes. Attitude is everything and there is no blaming anyone else for a bad attitude.
I was 17yrs old when my parents started Harvest. A teenager becoming a preacher’s kid is hard. An insecure teenager becoming a preacher’s kid was traumatic. My response - I became rebellious.
When we started the church, there was a lot of opposition and oppression from the “Christian” community. I also faced difficulties in school of not fitting in for many reasons. I see now that this oppression was spiritual, but since I didn’t really understand that at that time in my life, I blamed people. Those first few years were very difficult for my family. People who once told me they loved me, wouldn’t even say hi at the post office. I heard horrible things said about my parents. By the time I left 2 years later, I walked through those doors and wanted nothing to do with church. My excuse – Christians were hypocrites. For 10 years I rarely attended church.
When my husband and I moved back home and started attending our home church again, one of the issues that the Lord really had to deal with me on was my attitude. He showed me how I needed to take responsibility for my attitude and the consequences that go along with it.
I had a choice and I chose to have a bad attitude. This bad attitude contributed to the rebellion that I went through. Did my bad attitude change any of the situations we were going through, yes, it made them worse? Because of my attitude, I lost time with my family and I lost time with the Lord. I also went through some very dark and difficult seasons in my life.
Thankfully, the Lord didn’t give up on me. He used that time in my life as a time of revelation as to the importance of the church. Frankly, if I hadn’t gone through it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I can’t say it enough when I am teaching, whether it is Sunday School kids or adults. Own your attitude.
Attitude is a way of thinking or feeling – guess what? You can control this. You can tell your brain how to react and how to think. That is part of the power we have through Jesus Christ. We are not slaves to sin anymore. We have been set free which enables us to have self-control.
Philippians 2:1-5
Have the Attitude of Christ?
2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Ephesians 4:32
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Colossians 3:13-15
13 Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
God is telling us exactly what kind of attitude to have. He is telling us exactly what kind of attitude He wants us to have. Anything less is disobedience. It isn’t easy, we still have to contend with our soul man. However, His word tells us that it is possible, and it is what we need to work towards.
One battle that we are constantly facing is distinguishing between world view and God view.
One way is self-righteous, the other is righteous.
No one can make you have a bad attitude just like no one can make you have a good attitude. Situations arise that help push you in one direction or another but ultimately you have a choice to make. Are you going to choose to get angry, frustrated, discouraged, fearful, critical or are you going to react in a positive way and accept the situation knowing that you are walking with the Lord, and He will see you through whatever happens? Are you going to trust, be at peace, be kind and forgiving? Are you going to get mad that you are going through this trial or are you going to remind yourself that the promise never was that you wouldn’t go through trials but that you wouldn’t have to go through them alone and that He would be glorified in the end?
An important fact: Negative attitudes open the door for the enemy.
We read in the Old Testament how the Israelites kept grumbling and complaining. The result was a long journey that could have been a lot shorter. A whole generation prevented themselves from entering the promise land.
Ephesians 4:26
26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
1 Peter 5:8
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Are you going to be that person the enemy devours? Are you going to be that person that gives a foothold to the devil? Think about it, whose side are you giving aid too?
How this affects your church, if you are complaining and holding grudges you are helping the enemy hamper the Holy Spirit in your church. Ouch.
I have prayed around our church before, asking the Lord to prevent people who are hampering us by their bad attitudes from entering unless they are willing to let go of these rebellious attitudes. Each time I have done this – people have left. I would rather be small and powerful then large and a hinderance to God’s work.
Another fact: Attitudes are contagious.
I see this so clearly in my family and other families. When I am negative and complaining, pretty soon I’ll notice it in my kids too. If my husband is stressed and negative – pretty soon we see it in our kids. Or the whole dynamic of the household changes. I know very negative people and I see the ripple effects in their kids or spouses. I see it in the church as well, when negative people start complaining, I can see the attitude spread to other people.
But the reverse is also possible – when we have positive attitudes, God like attitudes. Those are contagious as well. When we smile, other people will smile back. When we laugh, others will laugh too. When we are kind – that encourages others to be kind as well.
We all have emotions – God given emotions. Anger, sadness, joy, peace – God gave us all of these emotions. But what we do with them is what sets us apart from other. What we do with them is what sets us apart from who we used to be. We can control our attitudes and emotions instead of allowing them to control us.