Attitudes

Webster defines attitude as: 1. A manner of acting,

feeling, or thinking that shows one’s disposition, opinion,

etc..

A. Our attitudes may be socially acceptable and good,

or they may send very strong warnings to every-

one around that we reject what others think or

want.

1. Our attitudes may come as a result of intense

thinking and study, but most often come about

with a minimum of thought or no thought, at

all.

In the case of bad attitudes, others may try to point out our

bad attitude so that we might change any unchristian

behavior.

A. Way too often, however, we have a tendency to

make excuses and justify our bad words or action.

1. It must be understood that even though we

may excuse our unchristian behavior....God

doesn’t overlook these bad habits quite so

easily.

Something else must also be understood.......bad attitudes

are both; habit forming, and infectious.

A. People have a tendency to run in packs...

so-to-speak.

1. One bad attitude might become a dozen bad

attitudes, as people take sides.

Let us take a look at some of the more common bad

attitudes that Christians tend to display.

I. I know so much, and you know so little.....it is really

frustrating to try and work with you on your level.

Romans 12:3-5 - 3As God’s messenger, I give each of

you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves,

measuring your value by how much faith God has given

you. 4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has

a special function, 5so it is with Christ’s body. We are all

parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to

do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to

each other, and each of us needs all the others.

I Cor. 8:2 - 2Anyone who claims to know all the answers

doesn’t really know very much.

A. As with most of the bad attitudes which we will be

looking at.....pride is the root cause.

1. In truth....God really has a very low regard for

your smartness (as the world deems

smartness)

a. If one were really spiritually wise....this

person would be wise and humble

enough to know that we know so very

little.

B. In actuality, it is quite likely that this person is

really spiritually inferior to the very ones that are

so despised and disdained.

1. Superior intelligence, by the world’s standards

only genders pride.....pride which God’s

despises....pride which God will destroy.

** Sometimes this attitude is expressed in words....but as

with most of the attitudes that I will cite here....it is

usually internalized.

1. Whether spoken or thought.....it still is a destroyer.

II. What a low-life kind of person.....this person is

regarded as lower than the slime that’s found in the

gutter.

James 2:1-4 - 1My dear brothers and sisters, how can

you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus

Christ if you favor some people more than others?

2For instance, suppose someone comes into your

meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry,

and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby

clothes. 3If you give special attention and a good seat to the

rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand

over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4doesn’t this

discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives?

A. In making this judgment about a fellow human

being, this person feels quite superior. (pride

again?)

1. If circumstances of life were reversed, what

would the judgment be?

a. Would this same person then be calling

out for mercy, understanding, and

compassion?

B. We probably could find something objectionable

about everyone that we wished to look down

upon.

1. Some of this may be real....yet, some may be

perceived because of prejudiced.

a. I believe that God places people in our

lives who may look goofy or act goofy...

people who may have an odor...people

who may have a speach defect....people

with a hare-lip.........God places these

people in our lives to test us and see how

much we really love people that we

perceive to be inferior to us.

ILLUSTRATION: *** The Pink Dress ***

There was this little girl sitting by herself in the park. Everyone passed by her and

never stopped to see why she looked so sad. Dressed in a worn pink dress, barefoot

and dirty, the girl just sat and watched the people go by. She never tried to speak.

She never said a word. Many people passed by her, but no one would stop. The next

day I decided to go back to the park in curiosity to see if the little girl would still be

there. Yes, she was there, right in the very spot where she was yesterday, and still