lectio divina:: 1 thessalonians

I have been highlighting scriptures that demonstrate how to have a great attitude, and I recently read what seemed to me as the granddaddy of the scriptures on attitude.

1 Thessalonians 5:14:
“Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

in verse 14, God tells us to warn lazy people and encourage timid people-
it tells us to be patient, not impatient, and to be a caring person.
that’s what people with a great attitude DO!
and that the kind of person that I want to be.

in verse 15 it tells us not to be a hater, and instead, to always try to do good to everyone.
who DOESN’T want to be that person?

and in 16-18, it blatantly tells us that its God’s WILL that I’m joyful, that I’m praying, and that I’m grateful.

put simply, its God’s will for you and me to have an attractive, positive, believing attitude.
its God’s will that I be an encourager, a thanker, and a pray-er.

as a Christian, I should have a smile. I should have a kind word ready to be said. I should believe that God is going to take care of things. I should be patient, and most of all, I should be humbled and grateful for the load of grace that has been lavished on me.

so that settles it! a bad attitude is not God’s will for you or me.
it doesn’t come naturally, but I need to have it, so I have been finding myself praying for it.
and I have been finding myself looking for things to be grateful for when I feel like grumbling;
and it really makes a difference.

God is love.
rev-rob