Minute Meditations

It has been said that attitude, rather than aptitude, will determine one’s altitude. There are a great many people with very high IQ’s who never amount to anything because they are in need of an attitude adjustment.

In the field of aviation, we find that the word ”attitude” means the angle at which the plane meets with the wind, whether it is level with the horizon, climbing or descending. If the pilot is not responsive to the attitude of his aircraft, he is in deep trouble.

If we do not take charge of our attitudes, we can also be in deep trouble. The ”world” is in deep trouble; God describes it as being ”like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.”

The world recognizes the importance of a good attitude in order to rise. Aviators understand that the proper attitude of the plane is essential to a successful flight. We need to appreciate the fact that our attitude, rather than our aptitude, will determine the verdict that we receive from our Lord at his return.

What kind of an attitude is God looking for in us? Through Isaiah, God tells us, ”This is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

This is an entirely different answer than you would hear from the world. They admire and respect the aggressive, the self-assertive, the forceful. They cannot imagine that the meek will inherit the earth.

We are fortunate that God looks upon our hearts and He is more interested in hearts that tremble at His word than He is in our cleverness. For this reason, Paul tells us that, ”Not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” Jesus actually thanks his Heavenly Father because, as he put it, ”thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

We are those ”babes” who Jesus was referring to. We are those who are not mighty or noble by the world’s standards; we are those who are of a humble spirit and tremble at God’s word.

We all know some who are clever, who have high IQ’s; they are self-assertive, aggressive, forceful and considered to be successful. They rise in altitude and are considered the mighty, the noble, the wise and prudent from a worldly viewpoint, but they have no time for God or His word and they are like a plane hurtling uncontrollably for a crash. Solomon described this altitude by saying, ”Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

David was envious at the foolish when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. He explains that he did not get his attitude adjustment until he went into the sanctuary of God; then understood he their end.

The only way we will ever achieve the correct godly attitude is by going to God’s word and having Him instruct us in the ways of righteousness. God will do this for us. We can, with the proper godly attitude, soar to great heights, for with David we say, ”It is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory.”