Attitude Check

I was joking with a friend a few weeks ago about how I was struggling with being crotchety.  I asked him, “When did that start?”  He replied he had been struggling lately too.  He had seen a bumper sticker that said something to the effect of ‘If you’re not angry you’re not paying attention.’  Where do bad attitudes start?  How can you overcome them.

What I’ve tried lately, thanks to a book I read titled Thrive by Arianna Huffington, is saying 3 things I’m grateful for everyday.  Steffani and I try to do this every night at dinner.  We’re not 100% on it all the time but we do it frequently enough that it does help my bad attitude.

It seems like I’m so prone to just a sourpuss type of attitude anymore for some reason.  Very rarely am I happy for extended periods of time.  I’ve read before that the human brain tends to focus on the negative if we let it.

I can remember being so joyful all the time it felt like in college.  I’m trying to get back to that point but now it takes significantly more effort.  Now I have more bills to worry about, etc.

The good news is, I have a life partner.  Steffani is everything I dreamed of and more.  She continues to impress me on a daily basis with her strength of character and servant’s heart.  I try my best to serve her as well.  I’m falling in love with her more by the day.  Thankfully she is understanding of my bad attitude but also challenges me on it which I need.

Cynicism creeps in so easily if we let it.  It has to be a conscious decision to not let it creep in.  I’ve been thinking about the root of cynicism and I think it partly has to do with a prideful heart.  We are quick to criticize others because we think we can do it better.  At least they’re doing something though, at least most of the time.  Sometimes we can do more harm than good of course but nothing this side of heaven is perfect.

Cynicism can become a part of our spiritual lives as well.  We worship a God of the entire universe and yet we see so much pain and suffering in the news on a daily basis.  How can we have hope?  How can we even cope sometimes in the face of it all?  

We are reminded in Scripture to put our hope in God.  David says in the Psalms, ‘Why are you downcast oh my soul?  Put your hope in God.’  That is the best any of us can hope to do.  Put your hope in God.  

You will fail yourself.  Others will fail you.  But God never will fail you.  It may feel like it at times.  Things don’t go our way; we lose our jobs or miss out on a promotion or go through a breakup.  That doesn’t mean God failed us though.  Those are the times when it is most important to put our hope in God.  He is the God who sees us and our suffering.