Attitude: A Measure of Faithful Obedience

by Hadley Robinson

The PowerPoint presentation found here is about attitude. It is not particularly well done from a presentation viewpoint but the essentials are of note considering that it is a story of someone probably neither religious nor faithful. The manager in the vignette builds up others instead of tearing them down – an uncommon paradigm.

But an essential point made in Scripture remains:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:4-5

Why does the Apostle say rejoice? It is because nothing – absolutely nothing – happens without God. This is such a cornerstone of the exercise of our faith and is taught everywhere in Scripture. Romans 5:3-5 instructs us, for example, to rejoice in our sufferings. Who among even the faithful does not suffer from faithlessness – except when things are going our way? We do not rejoice because it makes us fun to be with or happy all the time but do so because our hope is in the Kingdom that is to come in fullness and that we are the objects – in whatever circumstances – of His love.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:3-5

How can we rejoice at all times? It is not our pleasure and purpose that we live for, but His. It is not that we are to feel like lost orphans but that we are to know Him and grow in the qualities of faith that are particularly pleasing to God. These include the qualities mentioned in the passage above. The heathen man is interested in anything but godly hope and character so we should expect that our struggle would be the same.

Sadly, much Church leadership promotes the popular notion that “God is on your side” or that Jesus loves everybody, all the time, and everywhere in some manner that is compatible with heathenish desires and cravings. That Christians may be required to undergo difficult and severe trials (cancer, loss of children, severe injury, etc.) is a foreign concept these days. That He requires those who are His to live holy, gentle, and loving lives in reverent fear is another foreign concept – but one written in stone in the New Testament. To the unsaved, God is on vacation or taking a long break and all things are essentially up to us, if indeed He exists in the first place (a.k.a. Deism). "God helps those who help themselves...." But this must not be our attitude. He will help us in a manner that is often at odds with any notion here in this world. On the other hand, He will save us from the power of sin, the wrath that results from it, and pour out His love in us culminating in an eternity in His presence.

We have to remember that if He cares about useless birds that are worth next to nothing (Matt. 10:29-31), how much more does He care for us, the glory of His creation. It is worth considering…

I have been doing a bit of this over recent years and am seeking to amend my walk accordingly.