Gems from Others: A Divine Attitude Check
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..." (Phil. 2:5)
Within the Church in recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis in teaching concerning the importance and effects of various attitudes in our lives. More specifically, the basic message seemingly implied is this; that having a positive attitude is a spiritual trait akin to godliness, while having a negative one is not. And, considering the amount of teaching being done along these lines in one form or another, one could make the case that a doctrine of "positive thinking" has become as much a tenet of the faith as those of more traditional acceptance.
Now, how could anyone have questions or concerns about such a noble-sounding attribute as this? This is a scriptural concept, is it not? Is this not what Christ and the apostle Paul taught? Or, could we possibly be taking a legitimate spiritual characteristic and applying humanistic interpretation and resources towards the accomplishment of this end? Well, maybe we should take time to stop and examine more closely what we mean by the phrase, "having a positive attitude," and most importantly, how all this relates to Scripture, even at the risk of conflicting with some of the most popular teaching of our day.
I would submit that the issue is not in having a positive or negative attitude. That is, at best, merely hitting around the outer circles of the target. Rather, the Scriptures admonish us to have the "same attitude which was also in Christ Jesus." What was and is this attitude and where and how does one acquire it? There is good news! It is no secret that needs to be sold for some monetary price. The grace of God has caused it to be clear and evident in Scripture. Let us now take dead aim at the center of the target.
First of all, the Scriptures do in fact teach that attitude is virtually inseparable with who and what a man is, "For as a man thinks within himself, so is he" (Prov. 23:7a). As for being positive, the literal word is not to be found anywhere in the Bible. Therefore, if we are going to be using an extra-biblical term, we then need to define its meaning by drawing from a spiritual-scriptural orientation rather than secular. What does it mean to be positive? According to an ordinary dictionary, it refers to what is actual, factual, real, or anything that pertains to reality.
So then, how can we apply a spiritual understanding to this term? Many cite Phil. 4:8 as a scriptural basis for being positive or only thinking about good things. However, notice that of the list of things we are encouraged to dwell on, it starts with, "whatever is true..." As we can see, this is very consistent with the dictionary's definition of the word, "positive." By this definition, being positive is not merely focusing on what is good and ignoring what is bad, but rather seeing things as they truly are, as Christ sees them. Christ is Truth and he is Light, and as a result, "all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light" (Eph. 5:13).
This is not accomplished by waking up every morning and by shear determination vowing to dwell only on good and positive things throughout our day. We need to pay attention to the preceding verse which puts verse 8 into proper perspective. "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Dear people, what produces the ability to dwell on "whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, and anything worthy of praise" are the fruits of being rightly connected to the head, even Christ. It is He who has said, "apart from Me you can do nothing." Then where does that leave us? Thankfully, the answer is rather, what He left us, and that is, "the Mind of Christ" (I Cor. 2:16b), and the spiritual process towards having our minds transformed and renewed (Rom. 12:2). This can be summed up in John the Baptist's declaration, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30
So then, what is the attitude we are to emulate which was also in Christ Jesus? "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8).
The Scriptures are replete with those characteristics described in this text. In a word, Christ exhibited the predominant quality of meekness. Furthermore, He says to,"Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart" (Mat. 12:29b).
Vine's Dictionary has this to say about the term ?meekness,' "It must be clearly understood, therefore, that the meekness manifested by the Lord and commended to the believer is the fruit of power. The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was ?meek' because He had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all." This definition is clearly consistent with the character of Christ depicted in Phil. 2:6-8, and it is this meekness, this Christ-like attitude, that we are admonished to have.
When it says that "He emptied Himself," it means that he laid aside His privileges and power, and became a man who did not engage in self-promotion. Isaiah foretold of this when he prophesied concerning the Messiah, "He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish..."
(Is. 42:2-3), and, "For he grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him" (Is. 53:2-3). John recounts, "Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone." Paul says, "for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that you through His poverty might become which" (II Cor. 8:9)
The Son of God humbles Himself by being made in the likeness of men. God makes man in His likeness in Genesis, and then for the sake of man, causes Himself to be made in the likeness of that man. Christ manifests the ultimate expression of meekness by "becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Jesus said, "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay my life down that I may take it up again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again..." (John 10:17-18), "or do you not think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and he will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels" (Mat. 26:53).
Now, someone may argue that the apostle Paul demanded his rights as a Roman citizen and will cite the passage, "If then I am a wrongdoer, and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of these things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar" (Acts: 25:11). However, if you believe that Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen in order to save his own hide, then shame on you for selling this man of God so short and not doing your homework! Prior to this episode, God's plan is foretold, clearly revealing Paul's motivation in his appeal to Caesar. "But on the night immediately following the meeting with the Sanhedrin, the Lord stood at his side and said, "Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also" (Acts 23:11). The fulfillment of this prophecy is recorded in Acts 28.
There are numerous references, particularly in the New Testament, concerning our testimony before an unbelieving world when supernatural meekness and humility are to be called upon. I will not list references here as they should be familiar to most believers. In my humble opinion, I see in the Scriptures two general instances in which one might resist evil and/or would insist upon one's rights. One would be in defense of others, while the other would be in the furtherance of the gospel. Please understand that, as noted, these are but general instances which, as in all things, require leading and confirming of the Spirit.
What may be an even greater challenge and all too often an indictment to the Church is the temptation to take a lawsuit between believers before an unbelieving court, and, what is worse, at the expense of defaming the testimony of Christ before the world. Paul addressed this issue in the strongest of terms. "Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteousness, and not before the saints?.....If then you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the Church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?" (I Cor. 6:1, 4-7).
It should be quite apparent that the high calling of exhibiting this "attitude which was in Christ Jesus" is far beyond human nature because it only comes by way of the "divine nature," of which, God's grace has made us "partakers" (II Peter 1:4). Imagine the church in earnest pursuit of such an attitude, and more than just an attitude, but the fruit of pursuing Christ, Himself. Imagine the witness! Imagine the testimony! Imagine the birth of true revival! Imagine the glory of a Church reflecting such a corporate expression of "this attitude!" Just imagine.....!
