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Attitudes and Perspectives to Avoid
December 4, 2021

Last week I had mentioned I had recently attended a breakfast where the culture of organizations was addressed, and how what the speaker spoke on, while based on decades of academic research touched on principles found in the Bible. These attitudes and perspectives that make up the culture of organizations is found within each of us. Last week we looked at those attitudes and perspectives that are important for us to have in our lives, and had gratitude at the top of the list. This week we will look at attitudes and perspectives to avoid.

One of the attitudes we can have that tells us we are tipping to the spiritually negative place of life is impatience. There are many ways how we can be impatient. We know for instance that some will impatiently claim that Jesus is delaying His coming. The truth is, we do not know when Jesus will return. All we know is, we cannot be impatient while awaiting His return. Jesus shows us that impatience is a tipping point in our spiritual mindset, and is a pathway to other spiritual problems.

Matthew 24:42-51
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Living in a world where we see the impact of sin on a daily basis, it could be easy to become frustrated, and we cannot allow frustration to consume our spiritual existence. At the least, frustration serves a distraction to what we must do and as we allow frustration to grow, frustration can paralyze us. No matter where we find ourselves spiritually in this world of sin around us, we cannot allow ourselves to become weary in well doing. We must maintain a steady perspective in our life that keeps frustration from setting foot in our life.

Galatians 6:7-10
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

When Joshua was ordained by God to replace Moses as leader of the children of Israel, God specifically told Joshua to be strong and of good courage, to not be afraid, to not be dismayed, a type of frustration.

Joshua 1:1-9
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

If we are sliding down a spiritual slope into an abyss of attitudes and perspectives we must avoid, we will come to irritation. We may think, shouldn’t we be irritated at the world of sin we see around us? Irritation is impatience magnified, and if we are not to be claiming that Jesus is delaying His return, we cannot allow irritation to take root in our life now. When we allow irritation a place in our life, we will become more and more irritable in our life, and that irritation can be used against us. Samson allowed irritation to seize control of his life and it ultimately cost him his life. Delilah’s persistence to have Samson reveal the source of his strength became an irritation to him. Samson surrendered to that irritation giving up his secret and it cost him his life.

Judges 16:15-20
And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

When we are irritated by something, we are bothered by it, we are troubled by it. Jesus tells us to not be troubled but to believe in God and Jesus.

John 14:1-4
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Paul wrote to the Romans telling them that even the Holy Spirit works on our behalf so that we be not troubled, writing that even the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us in ways we cannot understand.

Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

When we allow ourselves to be irritated, bothered, or troubled, we allow this to exist in a spiritual space between us, God, and Jesus Christ. When we allow feelings of being troubled to remain in our life, we limit the power of the Holy Spirit as it intercedes for us.

When left unchecked, feelings of being troubled can grow into worry. Jesus told his disciples to not worry, to instead seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and our worries will be addressed by God.

Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Constant worry leads to anxiety and a heightened sense of being cautious. Think about the world of sin we live in. It is a world filled with anxiety. The world of sin tends to be most concerned with physical death and illness. It also tends to be concerned with anything that can diminish the quality of the physical and mental life we have. Things are done out of an abundance of caution, and in this world of sin, anxiety is alive and well.

We know we are not to tempt God. Satan tried to convince Jesus to jump off the top of the temple as a sign of religious faith, and Satan was clearly told by Jesus, who quoted scripture, we are not to tempt God. In our lives today, we will not take risks placing the liability of that risk on God. We will act knowing what the facts are and being led by the Holy Spirit to make the best decisions. As we are led by the Holy Spirit through prayer in making these decisions, whatever these may be, we shouldn’t be anxious. We should have confidence that we will be led to the best decision for us in our life.

Philippians 4:6-9
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

We should reflect in the promise given to us in Psalms that we can cast our burdens on God knowing that God will not allow the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55:22
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

We can reflect on the wisdom of Peter who tells us to humble ourselves now knowing that God will exalt us at the best time for us, and that we can cast our cares on God.

1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Allowing anxiety to control our life will place us in a position where we are waiting for something bad to happen to us, and that will make us defensive. When we are overly defensive, we will think that people are out to get us. Instead, we are to be bold as a lion.

Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

We need to understand that if God be for us, no person can be successful against us. Others may hate us, despise us, seek our harm. They will not be successful against us, neither will anything they do separate us from the love of God and Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:31-39
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We live in a world of sin where insecurity reigns. The only expectation of this world is death and taxes. We find ourselves focused on jobs, employment, the economy, and all of these are important. With all of these is insecurity. Jobs do not last forever just like our physical life will not last forever. Paul wrote to Timothy and advised him to tell rich people to not trust in their riches but to trust in God. We may not consider ourselves rich, but we can all trust in God as we live in this world.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Insecurity could cause us to look at multiple avenues to protect what we have. Our protection comes through God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is the forces of spiritual darkness that is the root of all insecurities, and through God, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit we will succeed.

Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

The more a person lives an insecure life, the more that person judges others to bring security to their own life. We know Jesus taught we are not to judge.

Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

When something bad happens in life, humanity typically seeks to assign blame, even when what happens is most often circumstances of time and chance. In those times when what is bad could have been prevented humanity seeks to blame. Humanity judges others for being at fault for what is not right. All types of judgment from us will return judgment to us.

Romans 2:1-3
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

There are those who are self-righteous. They have pre-determined that they are correct and without fault. Even the very religious can be self-righteous. Jesus taught that those who are self-righteous will have a future day of reckoning and those who know they must spiritually grow will have a future day of glory.

Luke 18:9-14
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The world we live in warns us of the dangers of stress. We are told that before Jesus returns there will be a time of trouble like the world has never known before. We are also told that Jesus gives us peace, that our heart is not to be troubled. Spiritually, we cannot allow ourselves to be spiritually distressed.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

We are told by Paul that God will not allow circumstances of life to overtake us spiritually. He tells us that God is faithful and will always provide us a pathway through the circumstances of life. That pathway may not reflect our choice or preferences, and God will provide us the best pathway forward for our life.

1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

If we allow ourselves to slide down a slope of spiritual negativity, we will come to the point of being burnt out. If we allow ourselves to become spiritually burnt out without correction, we will thoroughly be consumed in the lake of fire. Spiritually, we must rise each time we are challenged. It is when we give up, when we succumb to being burnt out that we lose.

Proverbs 24:16-18
For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Jesus tells us that if we feel we are carrying a large load, if we feel we are on the verge of being burnt out, that we can take it to Jesus who will give us rest.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Anger can become an attitude of who we are if we allow it to be part of our life. Jesus tells us we cannot have anger without cause as anger is a type of judgment. When we are angry with or without a cause, we have already made a judgment. We know we will be judged as we judge others.

Matthew 5:21-26
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

We are reminded in James that human anger does not lead to the righteousness of God.

James 1:19-20
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Beyond anger is hostility. Hostility is when we want to take action based on our anger. In Romans, Paul tells us we are not to repay evil with evil, but to repay evil with good. Vengeance belongs to God and God will repay those who have wronged us.

Romans 12:17-21
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

The worst place we can be in is spiritually depressed. I’m not talking about any type of clinical depression for which you should seek the services of a mental health professional, but spiritual depression. If we are spiritually depressed it is because somehow we have come to the conclusion that things are not working out between ourselves through the Holy Spirit and Jesus, and God the Father. Instead of looking at the negative aspect of where we might be spiritually, we are to look at the room for spiritual growth we still have. We are promised in the Psalms that God hears the cry of the righteous and delivers them from trouble and is close to all who are of broken heart and contrite spirit, much like how Jesus spoke of the publican who would be justified instead of the Pharisee.

Psalm 34:17-18
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

We need to be confident that if God has started working with us, God will remain part of our life to bring us to salvation.

Philippians 1:3-6
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Some have a curiosity and interest in God the Father and Jesus Christ. Curiosity and interest can either be the springboard that develops our faith, or gives reason to pursue other interests. When Paul spoke to the Athenians, they had curiosity and interest, and for the Athenians, very few became believers. Most used curiosity and interest as a tool to mock Paul and other believers.

Acts 17:16-21
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.

The Ethiopian Eunuch also had an interest. We know that God calls, and that calling begins as an interest. The reason you stay on the phone when somebody calls you is because you have an interest. If you don’t have an interest, you hang up. The Ethiopian Eunuch did not hang up on his interest in learning more about the scriptures, and came to the point where he was baptized.

Acts 8:26-40
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Spiritually in life there are attitudes and perspectives we must have and there are other attitudes and perspectives we must avoid. We should be focusing our attention in gratitude knowing God, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit have given us so much. Whenever we have negative attitudes and perspectives which we studied today, we should take stock of where we are in life and refocus our efforts on those things that are positive.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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