Ever had to work on a group project with someone who didn’t have a good attitude towards the task, or towards the tutor/manager who set the project? Even if they do their fair share of the work, it somehow makes the task seem harder. A bad attitude can negatively affect all kinds of things, like relationships, chances of getting a job, even chances of being promoted or being trusted with more responsibility. Let’s be honest, we all have off days when our attitude isn’t as good as it could be. But if we find we’re having more and more of those days, we need to stop and have a self-check of our attitude. A person’s attitude isn’t set; it’s actually a choice. Author Chuck Swindoll writes: ‘Attitude, to me, is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It’s more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I’m convinced that life is 10 per cent what happens to me and 90 per cent how I react to it. And so it is with you…We are in charge of our attitudes.’ Paul writes, ‘You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.’ He always approached people with love, grace, acceptance, and a heart to serve rather than be served.

What now?

If your attitude hasn’t been as good as it could be, make this your starting point. Pray: ‘Father, give me a Christlike attitude towards everyone I meet.’