CHAPTER EIGHT
THE POWER OF ATTITUDE
Nothing devalues skill and commitment like wrong attitude.
The greatest men in the Bible were not made by strength or might, but by their attitude. Abraham was made by his attitude of obedience. Moses was made a leader because of his meekness. David's courageous attitude gave him victory over Goliath. Obedience led Jesus to the cross, which in turn led him to the throne. Power didn't make him, attitude did.
The nature of a tree determines the fruit it bears. Your nature is what makes way for your future. Every great altitude stems out of a right attitude.
It takes more than strength or skill to scale through in life; so you must cultivate the right attitude.
There are four aspects of human life where you need to cultivate a right attitude: attitude to life, attitude to God, attitude to work, and attitude to money.
ATTITUDE TO LIFE
You played no role whatsoever in your existence. If you don't embrace the gift of life, you stand to be disgraced. Every murmuring against God paves way for destruction. He made you, so you must maintain an attitude of gratitude to your Maker, for the privilege of existence, so He doesn't withdraw the breath He gave you.
Apart from appreciating God for your life, an understanding of what life means will help you make your life count.
Life can be defined as the art of living; and its evidence is in contributions.
When you stop making contributions to your world, you are no longer living; you are merely existing. Stones exist, but have no life, because they do not make any contributions of their own. Life is about contribution, not consumption; it is about relevance not significance.
Life is not about getting from people, but it is about giving out to people - reaching out to them. Life is about service, not status; it is about sacrifice not surplus. It is about giving, not just receiving. It is your giving that provokes your receiving.
We are blessed primarily to be a blessing to our world.
When you are not being a blessing to your world, life soon becomes miserable.
Life is about responsibility. The right attitude to life is a responsibility that we owe our destiny.
ATTITUDE TO GOD
God is a loving Father, not a collector, and he proves His love by meeting our needs. Don't ever think you are giving to help God, as He will never need your help.
God is our only dependable rescue. He is too big to require human support, so when you assume a supporters attitude, He may turn his back on you.
With a right attitude to God, you easily get Him committed to your cause; and if God be for you, nobody can be against you. Remember, divine presence is your greatest asset in the race of life.
ATTITUDE TO WORK
Nothing happens until you make it happen. Your attitude to work will determine your ultimate worth in life. When work becomes your hobby you soon become a high flier.
Slaves wait to be forced to work or be supervised to perform. You must realize that any skill you acquire on your job is an investment into your future.
If your attitude is that of just working for somebody else, it is negative and will not enhance your worth.
You must work to learn, and not just work to earn. Working to learn makes you a leader, whereas working to earn makes you a slave. Cheap money is a bait for destruction. There is dignity in labor, it is the Creator's design to enhance our worth in the journey of life.
ATTITUDE TO MONEY
Once again, I assert there is no magic about money; it is essentially a medium of exchange for goods and services. So if you are not providing goods or services, you are not qualified to enjoy financial fortune.
Money is only a blessing if you have it. It becomes a curse if it has you. Money in the hand is a blessing; but if it gets into the heart, it becomes a curse, because the love of money opens you up to all kinds of evil. It is a form of cancer to destiny.
Money is placed in your hands to enhance your stewardship to your world, not just to enlarge your possessions like the biblical rich fool.
Money is essentially for doing good, being rich in good works; not just for accumulation. There is one thing you cannot overdo, it is called "good"!
The bigger your capacity to bless, the greater the level to which you will be blessed. That means you are the one who determines the extent to which you are blessed. As you keep dreaming genuine financial stewardship dreams, God is committed to continually build you up.
Remember, money without adequate financial light is money soon gone; so get informed on its uses.
CONCLUSION
A change does not just occur, a change is effected.
Source: Ruling Your World (Chapter 8)
Copyright © 2005 by David O. Oyedepo
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