IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, NO!

(#2)

When I was just a child, I loved watching "The Adventures of Superman" on television. As the progam started, this introduction could be heard, "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, No! It's Superman. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, who can leap tall buildings in a single bound. . .fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way." I watched every episode with great excitement; I think I was convinced that Superman was real and could do anything.

Well, I grew up and now I know better. But something I do know for sure and that is our attitude determines our approach to life! Last week we talked about how "attitude" affects the performance of an airplane and how our attitude affects our approach to life. (If you haven't already, I encourage you to stop here and read last week's post for continuity.)

Besides the perfect example of Jesus, who gave us the priorities we need to follow in order to secure and maintain a healthy and spiritual attitude, the Apostle Paul had this to say. ". . .I press on to take hold of (grasp on to) that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (Philippians 3:12). ". . .one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are mature, have this attitude. . . ." (Philippians 3:13-15 - The Message Paraphrase). He knew better than to look down or look around; he practiced looking UP! As the psalmist declared, "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1-2). Paul's testimony shows he tailor-made his attitude to direct his life's circumstances. He said, "not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and of going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:11-13) No question about it, the examples Jesus and of Paul the Apostle affirm the first principle, that Our Attitude Determines Our Approach To Life! Now, for the second principle.

2) Our Attitude Determines Our Relationships With People! Some of you may remember the television program of yesteryear staring Art Linkletter, "People Are Funny"! Well, people ARE FUNNY! Have you noticed that people want a place in the front seat of a bus or car, the back of a church and the middle of the road? Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the sky and he'll believe it, but tell that same man that a bench in the park has just been painted and he has to touch it to be sure. People are frustrating at times, too (just consider your boss, your neighbor, your kids!). Someone said, "you can't get along with people and you can't get along without them." I add, "To live above with saints I love, O that will be glory. But to live below with saints I know, well, that's another story."

But you know, Jesus instructed us through His life, His teachings, His interpersonal relationships and ministry priorities that people are important! He showed us by example that people do not exist for ministry, but that ministries exist for people. President Teddy Roosevelt once said, "The most important single ingredient in the formula for success is knowing how to get along with people." John D. Rockefeller is quoted as saying, "I will pay more for the ability to deal with people than any other ability under the sun."

While driving in Central Alberta one snowy day some years back, I stopped at a service station for fuel. It was about 30 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. The employees at the station were very diligently working to care for the several customers, and I was duly impressed by the first-class service to them. I understood as I read the sign on the front door of the station. It read . . .

WHY CUSTOMERS QUIT: 1% die, 3% move away, 5% friendships, 9% price, 14% product

dissatisfaction, and 68% quit because of an attitude of indifference toward the customer by an

employee!

Wow, 68 percent of customers quit going to a business because an employee did not have a customer mind-set. . . did not know how to be friendly, courteous and helpful. Sadly, it happens in churches too!

Again, Jesus gave us a perfect model of caring for people as He met with His disciples in the Upper Room just before He was arrested and taken off to be crucified. He washed their feet. Here are the components of that interaction He had with these men.

a) They were men with whom He had purposefully shared all arenas of life.

b) His was an attitude and demonstration of servanthood.

c) He issued an all-encompassing command to love one another and others. He told them, "By this all men will know you are my disciples." Questions for us to consider: How are we doing in obeying His command? What do others know about us in regard to discipleship?

Then Paul said, "Let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).

3) Our Attitude At The Beginning Of A Task Will Affect Its Outcome More Than Anything Else! Coaches demand their team members have a right attitude before a game. Surgeons want their patients prepared attitudinally and mentally before surgery. Job seekers know prospective employers are looking for potential employees who have healthy attitudes as well as skills for the job. Public speakers desire a positive atmosphere that is conducive to communication before they speak to a group of people. The old saying "All's well that ends well" should actually be "All's well that begins well!"

Some other examples. . . . Rev. Billy Graham was a highly successful Fuller Brush salesman while he was in college, because he truly believed that the Fuller hair brush was the best on the market, and that everyone ought to have one! Two shoe salesmen were sent to a remote island with a small population to sell shoes. One soon said, "No one wears shoes here; I'll be home by the end of the week." The other one sent a communication to the home office that said, "Please send me 5,000 pairs of shoes, everyone here needs shoes." A young mountain climber was awakened by a tremendous cracking sound. He exclaimed, "It's the end of the world!" His guide responded, "No, it's not the end of the world, it's just the dawning of a new day." As the sun rose, it's heat merely bearing down on the ice was causing it to crack and melt.

I think many times we are guilty of viewing our future challenge as the sunset of experience rather than the sunrise of a bright new adventure and opportunity! At the age of 12 years, Jesus told His parents, "I must be about my Father's business" (Luke 2:49). That attitude guided and fueled His life and ministry! Our attitude at the beginning of a task determines its outcome!

4) Our Attitude Can Turn Our Problems Into Blessings! Life is like a grindstone. It can grind us down or it can polish us, and it totally depends on the attitude we cultivate. J. Sidlow Baxter wrote, "Every oppotunity has a difficulty; every difficulty has an opportunity. What's the difference between opportunity and obstacle? Answer, Attitude!" Do you know that a kite rises AGAINST the wind, not WITH the wind? A blast of an adverse wind to a kite is a FORCE to lift it higher! It would not fly if it didn't have the controlling tension of the string that ties it down. Since the germ of a seed has to struggle to push its way up through stones and hard dirt to fight its way up to sunlight and air, and then has to wrestle with storm, rain, wind, snow and frost, the fiber will be toughter and stonger, so too we must understand our adversities are used of God to strengthen us. Think bout this, "What is a stately old strong oak tree, but a little seed that held its ground"! The Apostle Paul again said, ". . .I will most gladly boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ will dwell in me" (II Corinthians 12:9).

Only a few people really knew Abraham Lincoln until the Civil War showed his character. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress while incarcerated in the Bedford Jail. Sir Walter Raleigh wrote "The History Of The World" while imprisoned in the Tower Of London. Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German while he was confined at Wartburg Castle. For 20 years, Dante wrote while in exile and under the sentence of death. Beethoven was almost totally deaf and burdened with sorrow when he composed his greatest works of music. Fanny J. Crosby wrote thousands of hymns when she was completely blind. Joni Eareckson Tada, a Christian author (she has written 40 books), artist, singer, radio personality, founder of Joni and Friends Ministry, has impacted countless thousands of lives for Jesus, all while being a quadriplegic since age 17. She is now 75 years old. Let's not excuse our poor attitude on having adversity!

When God wants to educate a person, He does not send him/her to The School of Graces, but to the School of Necessities! Through pit and dungeon, Joseph ascended to the throne in Egypt. Moses tended sheep in the desert when God called him to return to Egypt with the mission of leading God's people (the Israelites) out of Egyptian slavery. Peter, humbled and broken by his denials of Jesus, received forgiveness from the Resurrected Christ, and heeded His command, "Feed My Sheep." He later penned these words, "We are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. . . ." (II Peter 1:5-7).

Do we need an attitude adjustment OR a total change of attitude? Remember, It's not a bird; it's not a plane; it's not Superman. IT'S AN ATTITUDE!