Attitude

Paul writes something in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that is very difficult for most to wrap their minds around: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Really?  Rejoice and be prayerful thankful to God in all circumstances?  Did the apostle Paul have any idea what we would be going through today?  Civil unrest, terrorist attacks, economic downturns, ad nauseam.  Could Paul have any idea how little some have to be thankful for today?

While I am pretty certain that Paul did not know that an America would even exist and certainly would not therefore have anticipated our particular circumstances today, I am equally certain that his words apply nonetheless as Paul lived under the authority of Caesar, where every third person was a slave and oppression was the watchword of the day.

Paul didn't need to know our circumstances as his were so much worse having "been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked" (2 Cor 11:23-27).

Yes, Paul knew suffering, more than you and I will ever begin to understand.  And yet, he chose to rejoice always personally and calls us to do the same.  Why, how?  Where is the sense in rejoicing and being thankful in circumstances that are miserable?  Because thankfulness lifts our spirits toward God and the blessings he promises while complaining pulls us away form him into our own misery.

Jesus put it this way, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matt 6:22-23).

If we focus on the negative and complain about how bad we have it, our spirit will be darkened causing us to pull into our she'll of misery.  Should we, however, focus on the good and thank God for his blessings, our spirit is filled with light.  We can cause personal increase or decrease just in what we choose to focus upon and how we respond to it.

The circumstances of life will sometimes be good, sometimes bad - we don't get to choose the circumstances into which we are born or even that come upon us necessarily.  But we can choose our attitude.  President Lincoln once mused, "Folks will be just about as happy as they choose to be."  That's it, that's our choice: Be happy or not but don't wait for society to make you happy, you will miss out on happiness entirely.  Jus' Say'n.