What is an attitude?

Some say attitude is an inward feeling expressed by behavior. Townsend and Cloud say it’s your orientation toward something, the stance you take toward others, God, life, work, and relationships (Boundaries, 1992). Others say it is the mental filter through which you experience the world.

Many believe attitude is ingrained and cannot change. However, I believe attitudes can change, and I am not alone. Victor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, learned the importance of attitude during the Holocaust. It is easy to see how many at the hands of the Nazi’s had tendencies toward suicide and could not endure the suffering and trauma. But Frankl found a common thread that ran through the minds and hearts of those who survived, Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way (Man’s Search for Meaning revised and Updated 1984).

How is our attitude influenced?

Our attitude is influenced and driven by our temperament, character and personality.

Temperament is comprised of the inborn traits that subconsciously affect our behavior. It is our genetic predisposition to perceive and respond to the world. Hippocrates proposed that temperament can be categorized in the following four categories:

The Sanguine--warm, outgoing, friendly The Choleric--organized, goal-oriented, natural leader and teacher The Melancholy--gifted, analytical, sensitive and conscientious The Phlegmatic--quiet, calm and laid back

The negative side of temperaments are as follows:

The Sanguine--obnoxious and needy The Choleric--demanding, controlling and bossy The Melancholy--moody, isolated and perfectionist prone The Phlegmatic--just plane lazy

We can feel more prone to the negative characteristics, yet we can be spiritually transformed and exhibit the positive attributes.

Character could be described as, the you when no one is looking, or the sum of your habits. Albert Einstein believed weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. Basically, character is our natural temperament modified by factors like childhood training and environment, our thoughts and feelings from specific experiences gathered in life, or a more generalized consensus of life, neighborhood, town, state, country and world.

We all have models that have influenced our character. Our parents have one of the biggest influences on our lives, yet there are no perfect parents, and they can cause harm by doing bad things or by withholding good things. And other authority figures and peers can be destructive or constructive to a relationship. Even our different neighborhoods can shape us. Were they safe? Rich? Poor? Full of kids? Elderly? Rural? Education is also a character-building component stemming from parents, school, family, neighbors, peers, Sunday school, activity leaders, babysitters, employers, and on and on.

However, the apostle Paul says that we can receive a new character. In II Corinthians 3:18 he says, And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. God sees character development as seeing ourselves more and more as we already are. A paradox Jesus gave us is, He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it (Mat 10:39).

Personality is the outward expression of who we are. Depending on how genuine or authentic we are, our personality may or may not match our character. Personality can be a mask hiding an unpleasant or weak character. We protect others from who we think we are because we are afraid of rejection or ridicule, or sometimes we’re just plain selfish. Personality is primarily relational (influencing our attitude more presently than developmentally), and most prevalent when relating to family, friends, mate; it is what they experience as we speak and behave. Do we have a good support system, an unhealthy support system, or none at all? In other words, are they accountable, dependable, enabling, and encouraging as the relationship is lived out?

Another huge influencer interwoven into all of the above is our world-view. James Sire says, "A world-view is a set of presuppositions or assumptions which we hold, consciously or subconsciously about the basic makeup of our world." Phillips and Brown report, "A world-view is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life.” Walsh and Middleton say, "A world-view provides a model of the world, which guides its adherents in the world."

Various world-views include Theism, Monotheism, Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Existentialism, Postmodernism, Pantheism, and New Age. The interpretation of one’s world is used to filter experience and then act in accordance with the particular view held.

How do you change attitude?

I have heard it said that being an optimist doesn’t really help much. But the truth is it does; attitude matters. You can’t always control your circumstances, but you can control your own thoughts. You can’t always change what’s happening in a situation, but you can change the way that you look at, define and interpret the situation.

Perception is a fascinating phenomenon. It is like a clean window that becomes dirty with ridicule, deception rejection, misinformation, fear, disappointments, doubt, and criticism. When we don’t wash our windows, the dirt builds up making it difficult to define, represent and interpret life. Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way you are right."

Attitude adjustment comes by way of cognitive therapy and other counseling modalities. Also, things like prayer, fasting, study, meditating on God’s Word and mind renewal can help free us from life’s burdens, lies and perceptual distortions.

So, what attitude are we to have?

Our attitude needs to reflect the mind of Christ. Christianity is Jesus Christ himself. His life, his death and his resurrection are the central themes around which all truth gathers. We possess the mind of Christ when we willingly receive and act on the teaching, healing and transforming power of a loving God.

What about our rotten nature contributing to our attitude problem?

The answer is found in Ephesians 4:22-24: “Throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal (God directed) of your thoughts and attitudes you must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness--righteous, holy, and true.”

God said, “Let us make man in Our (“Our”=Trinity) image and likeness” (Gen 1:26). This doesn’t mean we can become God, but we can become godly people. We were made like God for a reason; we were created with a purpose. Isaiah said, “All who claim me as their God will come, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them” (Isa. 43:7). So what does it mean to glorify God? To glorify God is to be godly; to be godly is to have an attitude of godliness, to grasp and exemplify His values, attributes and character to a lost world.

Your attitude should be that of Micah 6:8, “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

The attitude we’re to have was expressed in a powerful way with the incarnation.

Let this mind (attitude) be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus who set aside His majesty, authority, home, comfort, glory to save us. Jesus emptied Himself, took on the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:5). Our attitudes radically change when we grasp that kind of love, sacrifice and humility. He chose this mindset and modeled it that we might choose to glorify the Father in the same way.

Jesus often taught about our mind and attitude.

Some of the disciples got into an argument over who would sit next to Jesus in heaven; they were concerned with position and importance. But Christ told them what was important: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

Jesus also illustrated servanthood when he washed the disciples feet before His crucifixion. The word servant actually means slave. In that day, slaves had a sense of pride and worth because of whom they worked for. It is a perfect picture of Jesus’ obedience, sacrifice and love toward God the Father. We are to have this same mind or attitude.

These passages also give insight into the kind of attitude we should have:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).

“I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds” (Jer. 17:10).

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things” (Phi. 4:8).

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 Jo. 4:11).

Attitude: complex and yes, adjustable!

Our perception of the world is filtered through many parts. We can make adjustments to change our attitudes. Whether it is temperament, personality, worldview or any other influence on our life, we do have a choice.

We can be willing to let go of burdens from life experience that drive our attitude, and we can accept help from others and receive the life-changing power that God offers. Our attitude can adjust through seeking “whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good mention.”

Could Victor Frankl be right? Could choosing your attitude be the last of the human freedoms? We’re not exactly sure how and when our attitudes will change, but we can have the mind (attitude) of Christ more and more as we let go of the bad we don’t need to carry and receive the good through prayer, fasting, contemplation, meditation, study of the Scriptures, counseling and relationship. This will change our old representations, definitions and interpretations of our world and thus enable us to change our attitudes for good.

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