ATTITUDE
I have an attitude indicator. It might be the most important instrument in the airplane, especially if it’s foggy outside. It tells me if the attitude of the airplane is right, which might be more important than you think. In-flight, attitude is the level position of the airplane, whether it’s flying straight and level, banking left or right, or pitching up or down. When a pilot loses sense of the airplane’s attitude, disaster is imminent. That’s why we have an attitude indicator.I even have a backup attitude indicator. The primary instrument might fail (it did for me once while I was in training). So I have a backup to make sure I’m getting the right reading from the primary.We all need an attitude indicator in life. After all, how you approach everything is the biggest determiner of its outcome. For many years, I’ve had the following quote by Chuck Swindoll sitting on my desk:
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes
What is our life’s attitude indicator? Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Solomon calls our attitude, “heart”. But in the Old Testament, “heart” always stood for “desires”. When the Bible speaks of our hearts, it is speaking of our desires.That’s my life’s attitude indicator. Daily, and even several times a day, I have to check my desires. When I’m angry, I ask myself, “What do I want?” When I’m offended or annoyed, again I ask, “What am I not getting?” Even when I’m excited or hopeful, I ask myself, “What am I expecting, or what am I really hoping for?”But Isaiah also warned that our hearts can deceive us. That’s why it’s important to have a backup. I have several. I’m surrounded by people who can be very sensitive to any off attitude I may be indicating. And I’m grateful for their help, because they love me, and do not want to see me crash.Is your attitude indicator working? I hope so. Because everything in life flows from it!