Each and every day we are surrounded by all types of influences from many different sources and most of them are negative. Many of them are not the highlights of our day. When we turn on the television the news seems to all be negative programming. When we go to our jobs, our coworkers have negative attitudes about the job, the bosses and etc. When we go home some of the people we are around (family and otherwise) all seemed to have had a bad day and are so grouchy we don't want to be around them, let alone talk to them. What do we do? Are we to let them make us feel bad as well? The first thing that is affected by these influences is your emotions: As soon as something negative happens, it first hits your mind and bam you find yourself ready to respond in a way that only minutes before you would never have even thought about.
What caused this? The negative thought went straight to your emotions.
What can you do about this? The reason these influences affected you so rapidly is because your will power has not taken its correct place in your life.
One thing we can do is go to our quiet place (if you do not have one – create a quiet place); for 30 to 45 minutes and take a pen and paper with you. In our quiet place we need to reflect on what negative (and all other) influences control our lives and write them down. Once they are written down, we need to thoroughly reflect on them. Place an X by those influences that better your life and circle those influences that inhibit your life and cause it grief. Do not skip over any influence in your life during this reflection. Every response in life has an equal and/or opposite response, which has an equal and/or opposite response. This can be a vicious circle if we allow it to be.So ask yourself, "Do I really want these things influencing my life?" If you do not want these things influencing your life, it is time to set some firm guidelines and make some firms decisions where these influences are concerned.
Our will power decides what we listen to or what we don't listen to. Our will power decides what we allow to affect us or what we don't allow to affect us. Take a hard look at the influences you circled. Do you really want those things that you circled influencing your life? If the answer is no (which it should be), then it is time to make the choice and firm decision not to allow them in your life. As you continue to reflect on the circled influences, repeat out loud, "I am making the decision right now that these influences will not control my life!" You need to do this with every circled influence on your list. There is not a quick fix and this is going to take some time to correct. However, it is a start in the correct direction to becoming a stronger and happier person by not allowing the negative influences to control your life. Keep your list handy and repeat this daily; and you will see the changes that you want to see.
The key thing here is to respond to these negative influences by using the power of choice and deciding that they will have no power over you anymore.
According to the Bible, when you become a Christian, a part of your new creation is the development of new attitudes — your attitude should become like that of Jesus.
The Bible says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:" (Philippians 2:5). "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off the old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds." (Ephesians 4:22 NIV) We must consciously decide to override your emotions and think/speak words that will bring positive influences into your life. Remember, you decide what and how influences affect your life by choosing to allow them in it or not. Choose to allow the positive to rule and send the negatives to be with those other negatives, far away from your life. The next thing you know, your life will turn around and get brighter as each day passes. For those who are the creators of negativity:"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." (Prov. 23:7). In reality, no one else really knows the thoughts of your heart, except you and God. Consequently, attitude is something that only you and God can work out — a change which must take place inwardly.
According to scripture, your attitude toward life, your circumstances, or toward other people should always be like the Lord's — as is defined by scripture. Good attitudes are generally demonstrated in being positive, encouraging, loving, humble, teachable, cooperative, considerate, selfless, loyal, persevering and so forth (Gal. 5:22-23).
To God — Our attitude should be reverence, submission, love, trust, humbleness, obedience, worshipful, and prayerful. (Psa. 111:10, Mark 12:30, John 14:15, Jas. 4:7, 1 Sam. 15:23)
To God's Children — Our attitude should be love, forgiveness, consideration, caring, encouragement, kindness, humility, unselfishness, respectful, and impartial. (John 13:34-35, 15:12, Rom. 12:10, 13:10, 15:7, Jas. 2:9, Eph. 4:2, 4:32, Col. 3:16, 1 Thes. 5:11, Heb. 3:13, 1 Cor. 13:4-8).
To Authority — Our attitude should be respectful, cooperative, accountable, humble, helpful, encouraging, loyal. Not resentful, defiant or disrespectful. (Heb. 13:17, 1 Pet. 2:13-15)
To Hard Circumstances — Our attitude should be patience, thankfulness, persevering, believing. (Rom. 8:28, Gal. 1:9)
To Our Church — Our attitude should be respectful, faithful, cooperative, helpful, willingness, dependable, participating, encouraging. (1 Cor. 10:32, 1 Cor. 14:12, Heb. 2:12)
To Duty — Our attitude should be faithfulness, responsibleness, obedience, cooperation, endurance. (Luke 16:10, 1 Cor. 4:2)
To Unfairness — Our attitude should be patience, humility, confident in God's justice. (Rom. 12:19, Luke 18:7)
To Disappointment or Tragedy — Our attitude should be humility, submission to God, prayerful, confidence in God's fairness. (Psa. 62:5, Jer. 17:5, Deut. 32:4, Job 13:15, Rom. 8:28)
To the Lost — Our attitude should be compassionate, forgiving, encouraging, helpful, reconciling them to God. (2 Cor. 5:18, 2 Pet. 3:9, Matt. 18:11-14)
To Sin — Our attitude should be uncompromising, unaccepting, intolerant, unsympathetic, yet compassionate and reconciliatory for the repentant. (Matt. 18:8-9, Gal. 6:1)
To Success — Our attitude should be humble, grateful, God-glorifying, not self-exalting or forgetful to God. (Jas. 4:6, 10, Prov. 16:18)
To Misunderstanding — Our attitude should be peacemaking, reconciliatory, patient, forgiving. (Col. 3:13, Matt. 5:9, Phil. 2:14)
Bring your attitudes into obedience to God's Word. Apply discipline to your thought life — submit your thoughts to those of Christ's. A good attitude is a matter of faith, disregarding your feelings, with a determination to embrace God's outlook and disposition.
2 Corinthians 10:5 "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."
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