Bullets for the Battle

The Bullet of Praise: Giving Up Without a Fight?

There are many bad things in this world … there can be no argument about that! But … are we letting the Evil One gain an easy victory when we allow the bad to SUFFOCATE the wonder and curiosity, the praise and thanksgiving the Lord created us to have? Let’s place that thought against the beatitudes: “Oh, the happiness of the man or woman….” Our Lord is recommending a way of life that escapes so many of us. How few seem to be truly joyous in the ways He mentioned here or in any other of our options! How many of us have surrendered to dreariness and mediocrity?

Let’s remember that happiness usually depends on happenings. They are unpredictable and both good and bad. But the happiness Jesus teaches rests on more than what occurs. It has an element of joy that far exceeds the passing happiness of earth. Abiding and overcoming joy depends on loving and knowing Jesus. He never changes and our joy shouldn’t either, no matter how much our feeling of happiness waxes and wanes.

How can we fight back against the bad and the dull? Let’s consider the first point of the business book, Fish!* The authors suggest your attitude about your work determines in large part if you will be content, effective and productive. In short, we must have the right attitude … God’s attitude … toward our work if it is to be meaningful to us. How much more do we need that right attitude toward the life we claim to have “in Christ?” It is clearly obvious that American Christianity needs a real “attitude of praise” adjustment. Of course, I need to start first with me! How about you! If our praise for all He is doesn’t exceed our complaints for all the world isn’t, we demonstrate that we don’t know the difference between happiness and joy.

*Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen.