And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Ephesians 5:2 NKJV
Why what matters???? Well your attitude, or better yet, my attitude, of course. I've been out reading a bit the last couple days, and it seems that over and over again, I've been hit with the realization that my attitude has not been the best it could be, and I can change it. And more importantly, that I should.
There have been a myriad of things that have occurred that I have allowed to cloud my rosy outlook and to dim my light as it were. The Light that only God provides to us. You see, by showing crummy attitudes, even to only those that are closest to us, we are being crummy lights to the recipients of our demeanor.
"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Mark 9:49 NKJV
Ok, Shalene, what are you saying??? You ask? Well, basically, I'm saying that though we should not try to be fakes and phonies about things that do bring us down, we should also not allow attitudes that really don't help matters at all to become routine. The longer we allow our feelings of being overwhelmed, and our feelings of disappointment to cling, the more they become a habit, and the harder it becomes to break that habit.
Now, I'm not one to say that all attitudes and emotions can be controlled just by changing the way you think about them, per se. That would just be denial that a thing can upset you. No, what I'm saying is to have a consciousness about the way that you react to things. For example, earlier this week, I was feeling very unappreciated, and really all it boiled down to was being self-centered. All I was thinking about what was what I thought I deserved, and what I wasn't getting. I was not focusing on all that I already have, and whether or not I had truly gotten what I deserved. And in all actuality, I had gotten what I deserved, plus some that I didn't deserve, but that's neither here nor there.
We should all be cognizant of the fact that if we are believers, thank God, we will not get what we deserve, in the form of eternal separation from God. That our lives are to be about self-sacrifice. Not self-indulgence, and self pity. Whether that sacrifice comes in the form of doing for our families, strangers or the body of believers, matters not.
I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for [it is] good. Psalm 54:6 NKJV
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD. Psalm 116:17 NKJVI pray that if, like me, you have found your attitude wanting, that you will meditate on this today as well. And also, that it will permeate your every day, and every encounter. Blessings to you all!
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Photo courtesy of willposh
