Good morning, Lord. Advent begins, and we celebrate the Prince of Peace. Teach me to be a peacemaker, O God. May I speak words of encouragement, not criticism; good, not evil; truth, not lies; praise, not gossip; reconciliation, not division.
May all my words be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).
Beatitude versus bad attitude:
Matthew 5:9 (TLB)
Happy are those who strive for peace—they shall be called the sons of God.
Proverbs 6:16-19
For there are six things the Lord hates—no, seven: haughtiness, lying, murdering, plotting evil, eagerness to do wrong, a false witness, sowing discord among brothers.
At the end of each day, it behooves me to ask: Was I more peacemaker than troublemaker?
It’s a good thing I’ve learned to hold my tongue. If I said out loud what first pops into my mind, I’d be in big trouble. My initial thoughts can be downright mean. Per the Beatitudes, I should aim for mercy.
Matthew 5:7 (NLT)
God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
“Merciful.” Not critical.
Lord, teach me to think and speak about others the way I want them to think and speak about me.
Good morning, Lord. You are all good, all just, all merciful, all loving. I am not. Help me become better, fairer, kinder and more loving. Chisel the hard edges off my personality. Shape my attitudes and actions to be more like Yours.
“Gentle.” A word seldom used to describe me.
Yup, I can be overbearing.
Matthew 5:5 (EXB)
They are blessed who are humble [meek; gentle], for the whole earth will be theirs.
Blessed are the humble, meek and gentle. Not the go-getters, the strong and the outspoken.
Is God calling me to change my personality? I don’t think so. But I can scale it back. I can step aside and let someone else take the lead. I can admit when I need help. I can listen first and speak later (or not at all). God will bless my effort.
Good morning, Lord. Everybody has a story, I know, and I see only one small corner of it. You know it all. Teach me to pause before I judge, to pray before I jump to conclusions, to listen to Your Spirit before I speak.
When someone says something that upsets me, remind me that they see only part of my story. Grant me a gracious attitude, in Jesus’ name.
Sometimes I think I’m smarter than everyone around me. The Bible has an answer to that bad attitude.
Matthew 5:3 (MSG)
You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God.
Compared to God, my know-it-all is next-to-nothing. And next-to-nothing makes room for more of God.
Good morning, Lord. It’s sad how often my first reaction is far from godly. I’m quick to justify my own actions and slow to extend grace, quick to judge others and slow to see the log in my own eye (Matthew 7:3), quick with blame and slow with kindness.
Thank You for the Spirit’s nudge reminding me to line up my attitude with Yours. Teach me, O God, to make Your intention my reaction, in Jesus’ name.
Let me be honest. There are days when my attitude could use some improvement. And what better place for improvement than the Bible? Antidote for a bad attitude … the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). Beatitude, from the Latin beātitūdō, “a state of blessedness.”
Yep, I need to lose my bad attitude and step into a state of blessedness.
I need to lose my desire to be right, and step into a beatitude.
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Hungering to be right–wrong. Hungering to be righteous–blessed.
