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Characteristics of the Christian Attitude
American football star Joe Theismann enjoyed a 12-year career as quarterback of the Washington Redskins. He led the team to two Super Bowl appearances -- winning in 1983 before losing the following year. When a leg injury forced him out of football in 1985, he was already Washington's all-time leading passer. I was watching that last game of his on TV. It wasn't a pretty sight. As soon as I saw the foot turned completely out to the side, I knew that it was the end of his career.    The tail end of Theismann's career taught him a bitter lesson. "I got stagnant," he said, "I thought the team revolved around me. I should have known it was time to go when I didn't care whether the pass hit Art Monk in the 8 or the 1 on his uniform. When we went back to the Super Bowl, my approach had changed. I was griping about the weather, my shoes, practice times, everything."    He continued, "Today I wear my two rings -- the winner's ring from Super Bowl XVII and the loser's ring from Super Bowl XVIII. The difference in those two rings boils down to attitude.    Attitude also is important for the Christian and following are a few characteristics of the Christian attitude that the apostle Peter, in the Bible, relates to us. The Bible contains God's message to us through His chosen messengers. Peter was one of the apostles who was with Jesus, God's Son, during His time on earth. Humility.    First Peter 5:6 says, "Humble yourselves." Excess self-pride focuses attention upon self and can be carried to extreme. Pride is not considerate of others and makes it difficult to submit to a higher authority. Jesus, in Matthew 5:3, said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." He was talking about humility. Jesus also tells us, in Matthew 6:1-5, not to practice our piety in front of others to be seen of them. We don't boast of our humility.    When I was a pastor in Dallas, Texas I visited a family that I knew was having a rough time. -- sickness, loss of income and school was starting the next week, but there was no money to buy the children's needed shoes and clothes. They told me of one of my deacons who had visited them. He and his wife bought all of the children new shoes and some clothes and had brought a large bag of groceries to them. Evidently, the deacon and his wife told no one about this, and I had not known about it. I did let the deacon & his wife know that the family expressed great appreciation and that I was proud of them. This is what Jesus and Peter were talking about. Submission.    Peter went on to say that we were to humble ourselves "under God's mighty hand." The idea of submission is prominent in the Bible. We are told to submit to our leaders. Christians are to submit to one another; children are to submit to their parents. The Bible speaks of Christ's submission to God the Father, and the church's submission to Christ. Here in our text Peter reminds us of our submission to God who is mighty and able to take care of us. Trials will come but because He cares for you, victory will be the outcome.    Sometimes we may think we know best how to direct our lives. We choose our course of direction, our careers, our business decisions, our relationships, our recreation, our financial decisions, our community involvements (or lack thereof) without any consultation with God. Submission is not easy when we are prone to independence.    In an article for Decision Magazine, Samuel Kamaleson illustrates the difficulty of submission through a Christian folk story from South India. It opens with a young boy who loved to play marbles. He regularly walked through his neighborhood with a pocketful of his best marbles, hoping to find opponents to play against. One marble in particular, his special blue marble, had won him many matches.    During one walk he encountered a young girl who was eating a bag of chocolate candy. Though the boy's first love was marbles, he had a weakness for chocolates. As he stood there interacting with the young girl, his salivary glands and the rumbling in his stomach became uncontrollable, and he thought to himself, "I have got to get my hands on those chocolates."    Concocting a plan, he asked the girl, "How about I give you all these marbles for those chocolates?" She replied, "Sounds fair to me."    He put his hand in his pocket, searching for the distinguishing cracks on the surface of the blue marble. Once he identified the blue marble with his fingertip, he carefully pushed it to the bottom of his pocket and pulled out all the other marbles.    As he handed the marbles to the girl in exchange for the chocolate, the boy thought his plan was a success and turned to walk away. As he began to eat the candy, he suddenly turned to the girl and asked, "Hey, did you give me all the chocolates?"    Our sinful nature leads us to have the same deceptive and defiant attitude as the boy in this story. We want everything God has to offer. We want His presence and protective care; we want answers to all of our prayers; we want it all. But we are unwilling to give up everything for it. Many times there is a "blue marble" in our lives that we seem unwilling to offer to the control of Christ. Until we can fully subjugate, or submit, ourselves to God's will, our participation in God's kingdom will be limited.    We need to let God show us His will for our lives at each stage of our lives. How do we do that? We cannot determine this if we are not in communication with God. Your life as a Christian is not about you; it is about God. God's plan and purpose is to be worked out through you. You are His instrument. After your life of submission and service on earth is over, God will reward you with a place in His house, in heaven.    God has furnished us with a manual. We call it the Bible. We must study it thoroughly. God speaks to us primarily through His printed word. In our 2-way conversation with God, we primarily speak to Him through prayer. Also, His Holy Spirit that lives within every believer helps us to understand God's printed word and His answer to our prayers and how we can apply what God tells us to our lives.    That is where submission comes in. The apostle Peter is telling us to submit to God's mighty hand, and to do this with humility. God's power is mighty and He is able to see us through this life with all of its troubles.	Full Confidence in Christ. In 1 Peter 5:7, we are told, "Cast all your anxieties on Him [God] because He cares for you." It is wrong to worry. There is a difference between worry and concern. Worry does not change anything, except the worrier, and usually there is no basis for the worry. It is negative energy & only hurts the worrier. Someone has said, & it probably isn't far from true, that 90% of what we worry about never happens and worrying wouldn't change the other 10% anyway.    Concern, on the other hand uses positive energy. Concern leads one to determine whether or not he/she can have any influence on the outcome. If not, the concerned Christian turns it over to the Lord. If the Christian can have an influence over the outcome, he/she should explore what appropriate positive actions can be taken and act on the concern. If none of the available options would be appropriate, again, the matter should be turned over to the Lord.    All of this takes place in the context of our communication with the Lord -- our talking with Him in prayer and His speaking to us through His printed word.    If our confidence is in Jesus Christ, we have no cause to worry. We cast our anxieties on him. We take our problems to Jesus and trust him with them.    One of the differences between the Christian and the non-Christian is that the Christian has God to turn to in the dark hours. The Christian is a child of God & is under His care.    Even when things go wrong and a solution does not seem to be in sight, we must have the confidence that God will use the situation to His purpose and our growth. Perhaps we need to ask what God wants to teach us. He may be trying to teach us patience, or that we are not self-sufficient, or to help us empathize with others who are going through difficult times. Be open to learning the lesson God wants to teach you. Then God will pull you through, or give you the faith and wisdom to handle the problem. Self Control. Next, Peter says, "Be self-controlled" (verse 8).    We are to take seriously our high calling of God to be followers of Jesus Christ. We are not to just go through a form of worship, routinely do the "right things" to provide an outward appearance. This was the mistake of the Pharisees. We are called to a way of life. We are to put our hands to the plow and set our eyes upon Jesus.    When in the 7th through 9th grades in school, I worked on a ranch during the summer. I also did some planting for a neighboring rancher.    Those rows seemed to be a mile long. I remember the first day. As I approached the end of the row the owner and another man were standing there, laughing and looking back behind me. I turned and looked. The rows were really crooked. I had been looking down in front of the tractor trying to follow the previous row. I learned that if I would set my sight on a proper spot far ahead, perhaps at the end of the row, and move directly toward it, my rows straightened out.    As Christians, we are planting seeds of the Gospel as we move about in the world. If we try to do it all under our own power and direction, our rows will be crooked and the impact will not be good. We must keep our eyes upon Jesus Christ and let him direct our paths. Alertness. Next, we are told to be alert. Peter says, "Your enemy [the devil] prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (verse 8).    Be watchful of the example you set. Someone is looking to you as a pattern for his or her life. You may even be unaware of it. You will want your example to influence others in the right direction.    Be alert to the slyness of Satan and his temptations. He can sneak up when you don't expect him and tempt you where you are weakest. Be strong in the Lord.    Be alert to the opportunities God provides for service -- such as was the case of the deacon mentioned earlier, and of those who rush in to help victims of disaster and take the good news of God's love expressed in Jesus Christ to them.    Be alert for the return of Jesus. It could be any time. Let's be sure that we are being faithful servants of his. Live expectantly. Resistance Against Satan. In verse 9, we are told "resist him (Satan, the devil), standing firm in the faith..."    We are at war. Satan is our enemy. You must not make room for him in your life. Some people say, "Lord, I give you my life, but I want to keep this particular habit or practice." They are providing a place for Satan to work, and he will take full advantage of it.    A firm faith is your best weapon. To keep your faith strong you must grow in the knowledge of His word, the Scriptures, and apply it to your daily life. You must regularly communicate with God in your prayers and reflect on His word and His blessings.    Knowing that others have met the same trials as you have should encourage you. You are not alone. You need to be a part of group worship with other Christians. Fellowship with other Christians is important. Join with other Christians in Bible study, prayer, singing, hearing the word preached, and returning to the Lord a portion of the goods he has provided you. This is characteristic of the Christian attitude.    Peter concludes these verses about the Christian attitude with a note of victory. In verses 10 &11 he says, "And the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen." To share in His eternal glory and the victory through Jesus, you must know Him personally. You must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.    If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, please read the item in the menu under the title "How Can I Live Forever?" Also let me know and I will be happy to provide help.    Take care. May the Lord bless you and may you bless the Lord.    Don
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