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3 Steps to fix a bad attitude toward God, others, and ourselves at rachelbritton.wpengine.com.God, are you asking me to fix my…bad attitude?

Admitting to myself I have a bad attitude, and revealing to it other people is difficult to do. I did not want to write about it. In fact, I started to compose a blog post about another aspect of my life I thought needed to be put right. But, every time I asked God what he wanted me to fix, the word attitude kept popping into my mind.

I can pinpoint an occasion last week where I had a stinky attitude. I grumbled. I was intolerant, and I passed blame onto other people.

Unfortunately, it stemmed from me saying yes when I should have said no.

My yes had three repercussions:

1. I had a bad attitude towards God.

I sensed God telling me I should say “no” to the request for help from a friend. But, guess what? I ignored God, and did what I wanted. I said “yes.” When we don’t do what God wants, the Bible calls it sin. So many stories in the Bible are about people who have had a wrong attitude towards God. For instance, right at the beginning of time, Adam and Eve disregarded God’s instruction. We’re still suffering the consequences.

2. I had a bad attitude toward others.

I made a decision without God, which led me down a path of complications not only for myself but for my friend, for my husband, and for my daughter who I had roped in to help with the project. I was up to my neck in deep water—trying to stay afloat. Things did not going smoothly. What should have been a simple job turned out to be a complex and a time-consuming undertaking not just for me, but for everyone involved. Then, instead of looking at the source of my problem, I started to blame other people—their attitude, their incompetence, and their selfishness. I muttered and moaned. In the Bible, the Israelites spent forty years wandering in the wilderness, whining and grumbling, because what should have been simple obedience turned into unyielding disobedience.

3. I had a bad attitude with myself.

I got annoyed with myself for ending up in a complicated situation. I disliked myself for what I had done. I tossed and turned in the middle of the night because not only had I let down my friend, I had tarnished the reputation of my husband, my daughter, and myself.

There is a lot to learn from a bad attitude. We need to:

  • Listen instead of lecture. It’s all too easy to disregard God’s instruction, to tell God what we’re going to do, and then expect his blessing on it.
  • Let go instead of latch on. We need to ask God for forgiveness and then move on, instead of dwelling on what could have been. We may still have to deal with the aftermath, but God in his goodness will provide us with what we need to do so. Remember how he clothed Adam and Eve and provided manna for the Israelites in the wilderness.
  • Love instead of lash out. It’s so easy to point the finger at the other person, but God requires us to only show love in all situations.

Even as I write this, the issue is still not resolved. But, now I know how to move forward.

How about you?  How do you fix a bad attitude when one rears its ugly head?  What else may God be asking you to fix?  #beboldgirl and follow his lead!

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This week, I am linking up with Suzie Eller at #LiveFree, Kim Cunningham at #LittleThingsThursday, Jenny at #WomenWithIntention, Susannah Kellogg at #FaithandFellowship  and Holly Gerth at #CoffeeforyouHeart

  • Hi Rachel! Visiting from #CoffeeforYour Heart! Your website is beautiful and I so much appreciate the openness of your personal sharing in what you have written here.Unfortunately, bad attitudes are habits that seem to sneak up on us before we sometimes even recognize them. They are certainly common in every aspect of our environment. Thanks for your reminder to us all.

  • Thank you so much for sharing! Your openness and honesty, although difficult for you is so helpful and refreshing. We can all relate! We all sin and fall short and no one likes to admit it. I love how God is using this in your life to be able to touch the rest of us! It helps us to look deep inside and recognize where our own bad attitude is! Thank you again, very inspiring!

  • Oh … I really like it here, Rachel! Way back in my high school days I proudly sported an I LOVE MY ATTITUDE PROBLEM t-shirt.

    So I know where you’re coming from …

    Good to meet ya’ at Holley’s this morning!

  • I love the three points to help us when we have a bad attitude. I tend to step back from a situation, usually after it has been a train wreck, and reevaluate how I could do things differently. I do have the same problem of saying yes to others before I have always thought it through.Glad to be your neighbor at Testimony Tuesday to read these words today that I needed to hear.

  • One line stood out with such wisdom. –> we disregard His instructions, we plow on and do our own thing, and then we get mad at God when it turns out the way we don’t want it to. So very powerful. Thanks for sharing this, Rachel!

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