Choose Wisely

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34:1-3)

As with all actions, praise is a choice. As Paul tells us, "...let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name." (Hebrews 13:15) I don't think it is unusual for us to allow circumstances or situations outside of our control to influence our choices - we all likely do it on occasion. There is one choice that must be made with a full awareness of what is involved in that choice: Praise. We are determining to praise no matter what difficulty we face - we will not allow those things to control our attitude. Could it be possible that praise is really an attitude? It just might be!

Life's tough issues are bound to come to all of us and what we choose to dwell upon in those times will determine how we face them and how well we come through them. We can choose to grumble, complain, and almost grow bitter over them, or we can look at them as an opportunity. As someone once told me, God only disturbs our present in order to improve our future. When we begin to see the difficulties through that lens, we might just see it differently, choosing a much different attitude as we walk through those hard times. Are we tempted to grumble because it is hard? Yes, but we also could choose to turn that 'grumble' into praise - getting an attitude adjustment in the process.

The same individual pointed out to me that there was absolutely no way for me to choose another person's attitude. I could only choose mine. That meant I was not responsible for how another may face the circumstances at hand, but I could choose how I would. Too many times, I think we feel like we are responsible for how another acts, but they choose that attitude, and that attitude choice determines their actions. Our own attitude choice determines our response to the issues at hand. This is another important aspect of praise - we keep current with the issues. Too many times, people get into a grumbling and complaining attitude because they 'nurse' the past problems right along with the present ones.

God asks us to bring our cares (concerns, issues, troubling circumstances, doubts, worries, fears) to him. Nothing affects our attitude more than remaining current! We don't want to 'dwell' upon the stuff that was hard. We want to celebrate how much we know God is with us even when the issues are difficult. We can allow the issue to dictate our attitude, or we can allow God's promise to keep us, care for us, never leave us to influence our thoughts and actions. Choose to praise God with a genuine trust in his love for you and the circumstances may not change, but your attitude toward those circumstances will. Just sayin!

How do you see me?

Abraham Lincoln once said that 'tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.' If you are anything like me, the 'brutality' of that honesty can sometimes sting! I don't always see myself through the eyes of Jesus, although I should. There are times when I see myself through the eyes of others - giving into their harsh judgments about the way I am behaving. In school, that got me into a whole lot of trouble! I would do things contrary to what I knew to be right just because I wanted to be 'accepted' by the 'in crowd'. I did things I wasn't comfortable doing. I followed - they led. There is but one leader worth following - Christ. There is but one estimation of our worth and goodness that really matters - Christ's. None of us 'better' or 'worse' than the next person, but we sometimes think we are. It might just be time to see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus just a bit more - seeing ourselves through the eyes of others just a bit less.

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. (Galatians 5:22-26)

What gets in the way of you seeing yourself the way Jesus sees you? Do the taunting memories of your past keep creeping into your present view of yourself? If so, it is likely that others see those 'memories' being rehashed in our lives, as well. If someone were to tell you that is not the way Jesus sees you, would you believe them? They aren't comparing you - they are wanting you to be free of those past hurts, hang-ups, and halting memories. God's plan is for us to live free - no longer bound by those things that described our 'past life'. Maybe Lincoln was a little off-base because when you describe how Jesus sees me, I am more inclined to walk in that truth!

Gifts are given - fruit is born - attitudes change. This is the pattern God establishes in our lives. As you may very well be aware, our attitude toward ourselves can be a little less than kind at times. The more we listen to what God says about us, the more we will see our attitude about our past change. We don't give it as much 'credence' as we once did. We see it as 'over and done with' - no longer holding us captive. Scripture has a way of opening our minds to the possibilities of a different 'view' of ourselves - but it must be embraced. Each of us is an original, so why do we always want to 'conform' to some pattern set out for us by others? Perhaps we are placing too much emphasis on how others see us and not quite enough on how Christ sees us. Just sayin!