Last fall I was coaching Tyler’s baseball team, dealing with 13 and 14 year-olds. They all seemed to develop that “teen attitude.” You know the attitude? The attitude where they think they know everything and don’t need any advice from anyone (including their manager!). The attitude that makes them think they don’t have to answer questions that are asked of them. The attitude that makes them think they are super cool. As I was thinking about the Blog topic for this week (Attitude Check!), my first thought was this attitude my son had. But then I was led to think about how we as adults have attitudes as well; attitudes that need to be checked on a regular basis. The attitude that makes us think that we are above the job we have. The attitude that makes us think that we have better ideas or answers than our spouse. The attitude that causes us to judge other people.
How is it that we come to have this attitude? Maybe in part it is the thinking that we live in America, home of the free, where we have the right to pursue happiness. Maybe it is our selfish attitude that causes us to really only be concerned with our own needs. Maybe it is because we get tired, or frustrated with life, and we gain an attitude.
While I believe it is all of these things in part, I believe even more it is about the expectations we have. More often than not we set expectations for how our life should go: a certain kind of job, spouse, and lifestyle. We set these expectations thinking they are goals, but they are not goals. A goal leads us to shoot for an outcome, but if we don’t make that outcome it is okay, because the journey is as important as the goal itself. But an expectation is something that we “expect” to happen. If that expectation does not come to fruition, then we come to have an attitude, because we didn’t get what we wanted.
Instead, we should live by what the Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make Your paths straight.” We will have the right attitude when we trust the Lord, lean on God’s strength, and look to walk the path God has for us!! Blessings.
