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A Barrier or an Opportunity?

December 1, 2010

by Lisa Welter

I’ve been reading a book called A Winning Attitude by John Maxwell, and I want to share some ideas that he talks about, along with my own thoughts mixed in. He chooses a great short story to send a clear message of attitude and it’s affect on how we view life.

Two shoe salesmen are sent to an island to sell shoes. The first salesman arrives on the island only to find that absolutely no one wore shoes! He immediately called back to headquarters and said, “Well, I am on my way home, no one wears shoes here.”

The second salesman arrived to the island and discovered that the islanders had no shoes and called back to headquarters saying, “Send me 10,000 pairs of shoes!  Everyone needs them here!”

 Let me ask you a question. When you get up and begin your day, do you see the day full of opportunity, or is it the drudgery of challenges that you endure? How you view your day greatly affects not only you, but your family as well. Your attitude affects every decision you make, the way you treat your kids, your interaction with your spouse…it has the power to set the tone of your household. This should be a reason to stop and assess where you are at!

Life carries on, regardless of how you choose to handle it. Philippians 2:5 says this:  “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” We can learn how to have a great attitude by looking at the very life of Christ, and how he handled situations. Paul modeled this well in Acts 16, when he was thrown in prison. Rather than grumbling about his circumstances, Paul sang out in joy! Now, I know that seems a little over the top, but Paul had learned that his significance was attached to being “called according to His purpose” in Romans 8:28. Paul made a decision to spend time thinking of the good, rather than all of his troubles. This is not an easy thing to do! I have to hold myself in check all day long, because I have a tendency to see the barriers before the opportunities. Paul also understood that God was ultimately in control. He knew he was completely secure. The prophet Jeremiah was the one that said “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” We would benefit by also thinking this way. Just think of all of the mental barriers that could be removed when this is applied.

John Maxwell writes specifically about attitude in the David and Goliath story. When the Israelites were faced with the giant, Goliath, how did they react? We know they crumbled under the thought of “Goliath is too big of a problem, we cannot win!” But, David took notice of the situation and said, “He’s so big I can’t miss!”

How do you see yourself responding in life’s situations (your marriage, kids, work, etc.) right now? Are you handling it as the Israelites did, or like David?   

  Blaine Ministry Director Lisa Welter lives in Arden Hills with her husband, Cary, and their       three children.  They are a blended family and have an extremely friendly ragdoll cat named Jasper.