RIGHT ATTITUDES About God
LOVE AND WORSHIP (GODLY FEAR)
Psalm 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of his holiness. (KJV) Note: The original root meaning of worship had to do with having a high regard or opinion. It was related to value or “worth.” If you have a high regard for someone, you treasure the relationship. The person you worship is worthy of your attention. In the days of nobility, when addressing royalty, the term “Your Worth-ship” was shortened to “Your Worship.” In the case of our relationship with God, a worshipful, reverential respect is communicated by the phrase “the fear of God.” Just as we would treasure our relationship with an earthly father and be fearful of disappointing him or going against his commandment, that attitude is supremely magnified in our attitude about the true and living God.
Deuteronomy 10:12 What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Psalms 31:23 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful.
Psalms 34:9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
PRAISE AND THANKFULNESS
Psalms 50:23 Whoso offers praise glorifies me. (KJV) Note: The original meaning of the word “glory” was connected to weight. Something weighty (like gold) had much value. Something without weight was vanity. Offering praise to God signifies that you are aware of His presence, you recognize His weight of glory and you are in awe of His attributes. We praise the people and activities we admire and love. The greater our awareness of God, the more appreciation we have for Him. This results in praise.
Psalms 147:1 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
Psalms 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. (KJV)
Hebrews 13:15 Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
1 Peter 2:9 You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Psalms 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! (KJV)
Revelations 4:11 Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (KJV)
Psalms 66:8-9 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.
RIGHT ATTITUDES About Self
HUMILITY AND MEEKNESS
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Luke 22:26 Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Note: Sober = clear headed, not distorted.
Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
1 Peter 5:5-6 Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Psalms 25:9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Philippians 2:3-5 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
RIGHT ATTITUDES About others
MERCY AND FORGIVENESS
Luke 17:3-4 If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” Note: Forgiveness is a response to repentance and confession. As we read in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Also in Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” Some people feel inclined to give blanket forgiveness to those who have harmed them. However, it is interesting that ultimately God does not forgive those who do not repent.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
James 2:13 Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Proverbs 11:17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.
Colossians 3:12-13 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
LOVE AND LONGSUFFERING (PATIENCE)
1 Thessalonians 5:14 Be patient toward all men. (KJV)
Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Note: The “Good Samaritan” showed loving kindness; but it was not a personal affection because he didn’t know the wounded man (nor could he communicate with him). Likewise, we can behave in a loving way towards people we don’t even know. When we do know someone, often we will be called upon to behave in a loving manner though the “loved one” exhibits no qualities for us to love or admire. We love others by treating them the way we would want others to treat us.
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 15:12-13 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Note: We can only follow God when we walk with Christ’s vision that our present lives do not consist in the abundance of earthly possessions or pleasures. Unlike Christ, we can only make such a sacrifice if we allow God to rehabilitate us and prepare us for our true purpose. When God sees we are obedient to the eternal vision it is, to Him, delightful and sweet.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
RESPECTFUL AND NON-JUDGEMENTAL
1 Peter 3:8-9 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
James 4:12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Matthew 7:1-3 Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
RIGHT MATTITUDES
About circumstances and conditions
TRUST AND STABILITY
Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.
Psalms 9:10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalms 112:7-8 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Isaiah 32:17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
SEEING THE BIG PICTURE: DIVINE PERSPECTIVE
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Matthew 6:19-21,33 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Ecclessiastes 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.