Have you ever noticed…
That a lot of our attitudes toward things depend on what others have to say about it?
Why is that?
A friend of mine posted on her Instagram story today about how “Everybody hates Mondays.” And, she wondered why. She also asked “What is something that you do to make your Mondays better?”
(To follow her feed, head over to Instagram and search @redmami77. She’ll be posting encouraging stories ALL MONTH! Yesterday’s was a focus on special needs children and how hard Sundays can be. You have to check this out!)
Her story inspired me so much. Thank you, Leslie! Why are Mondays so “bad?”
Why do we hate the dentist? My dentist is very nice.
Why do we freak out when it rains? We get wet. We take showers, right?
Anyway…I want us to focus today on how other people’s thoughts, sayings and teachings are so deeply rooted in our being.
Let’s think about this. Are we a “herd” mentality? Seriously. I know for me, I’d like to think that I’m an individual, but in reality…
I wear pretty much what society tells me to.
I do my hair the way society tells me to.
I drive my car in the direction of all those lines and arrows and stop lights tell me to. (Okay, that could be for safety reasons, but still.)
I have to — as much as I don’t want to — live my life in the time frames that society tells me to. I begrudgingly get up in the morning. I go to bed at night.
I am not an individual. I am in a herd.
Think about the harsh realities of crowd-induced chaos. Stampedes at soccer stadiums. That scene in Selena where that girl is almost sucked under the stage until The Queen of Tejano quiets the throng with “Como La Flor.”
Why are we so engulfed in crowd mentality? The answer: It is how God created us.
6 God sets the lonely in families,[a]
Psalm 68:6 (NIV)
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
God sets the lonely in families. God sets us ALL in families. God likes us in groups. And, in Acts, the Father of us all requested that we hang out with like-minded people. What is the attitude in your group?
Being One in Christ
Philipians 2:2 (NIV)
1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2 Fulfill you my joy, that you be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Why receive you one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Romans 15:5-6 (NIV) – http://bibleapps.com/romans/15-5.htm
With “one mind and one mouth.” It’s all in the attitude.
Who is giving you your attitude? Is it Christ? Is it your friend down the street? Is it society as a whole?
The Bible says that we are not of this world. And, as I grow older, I see it. It’s hard to see when you are a baby Christian. If even harder to do it. Anyone else have problems at times staying on course and living as God wants us to?
Do I dare say we all do?
Today, I am going to focus on my attitude and how past lies of the enemy have infiltrated my thinking. Will you join me? We can get through this renewing of our minds together. And, Mondays aren’t so bad. It’s just the day after Sunday and the day before Tuesday.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) – https://www.biblehub.com/romans/12-2.htm
Will you pray with me…
God, I thank you for friends like Leslie who inspire me to renew my mind. Change my thoughts, Lord, into YOUR thoughts. And, make my attitudes right — the way you intended. Thank you, God, for today. Thank you, God, for MONDAYS! AMEN!
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