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.” (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. 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 of "A Mighty 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 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.

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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.” Philippians 2: 3-4

II. 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 2: 6-8

Humility and Humbleness have similar 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 have the attitude that you are better than non-
Christians 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. In order to become more humble, I need to remember Jesus
attitude as explained in the Gospels. Jesus broke 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 2: 14-15
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
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. Thankful

“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 what you have. Being thankful 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 and the fellowship of
sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…” 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.” Philippians 4:5

Caring means being concerned or having responsibility for 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 4: 8

Applying a Christ-like attitude into one’s life is no easy task. Attitude 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
culture. It is my belief that happiness and satisfaction have more to do with attitude
than 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, 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 me in my daily activities and be in my heart always.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.