Midweek Attitude Check

I ventured out to Wal-Mart today with my two kids. That was already a negative. The fridge was getting bare, so we had to go. No way around it. Our Wal-Mart recently did some remodeling. They rearranged the produce area to make more room for carts to pass through. Sounds like a great idea, right? It probably was, but on this particular day, my kids chose to use the extra space to play "run around and hit each other with a DVD case." I broke up this activity by putting my daughter in the cart basket. She chose to stomp her feet and refuse to sit down.

Great. As if enough old folks weren't staring at me already.

I felt my attitude going from calm and happy to furious and snippy. Guess what else? My kids' attitudes were turning south as well. I recently read something in The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst that played in my mind. "Whatever attitude we bring into a situation will be multiplied."

How true is that?

What started out as a regular grocery shopping trip was rapidly turning into a nightmare, for me, my kids, and all of the other shoppers. I needed an attitude adjustment, and quick!

What do we do when we need a quick change? The Bible says, in Philippians 2:5, that "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."

Yikes! Talk about convicting!

That passage goes on to say a lot about the attitude of Jesus.

"Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being" (Phil. 2:6-7).

Can you imagine? Jesus freely gave up his privileges as God. I have trouble giving up my privileges during naptime! One of my kids refuses to sleep, and my bad attitude creeps up. But Jesus willingly let go of his God-stature. He became a servant to all without complaining, whining, or having a bad attitude.

And the Bible says that I am to strive to do the same. When my patience runs thin I must remember what Jesus went through. That because I am his child, I need to become more like him.

I know I will never achieve perfection on this side of Heaven. God knows it too, and that is ok with him. It's the attitude that counts. Are we working to have the attitude of Christ Jesus? Or are we giving in to the grouchiness that comes when things don't go our way?

Guess what? Here's the good news: we don't have to strive and strain on our own. We have a helper! The Holy Spirit! Later in Philippians chapter 2, Paul says, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him" (verse 13, emphasis added). We are not alone. God helps us want to have a good attitude. God gives us the power to have a good attitude. We just have to ask him to help us.

I don't know about you, but I really needed this midweek attitude check. At the store today, I quickly decided that I had to turn it around if I was going to make it back out to my car with all of my groceries and my children in one piece. I changed my snippiness into sweetness. My tone and demeanor relaxed. And just like that, my kids' attitudes changed too. We made it! May we always remember the attitude of Christ!

Linking up this week at:

#threewordWednesday

#coffeeforyourheart

#belovedbrews

#livefreeThursday

#dancewithJesus

#fellowshipFriday

#GraceandTruth