Gratitude vs. Attitude

I heard this on the radio the other day…well, something close to this. I was driving so I couldn’t write it down right away, so this is paraphrased to capture the gist. “Healthy gratitude prevents a bad attitude.” It’s kind of like the saying, “you can’t say ‘smile’ without smiling.” It would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to understand and utilize true gratitude while being grumpy and angry at the world.  

True gratitude…what does that even mean? To me, it’s being thankful to God for EVERYTHING, even the not-so-pleasant things in my life. If I am blessed, I recognize that the Lord is a loving and benevolent Father. If I’m in a slump, whether because of circumstance or stupidity, I recognize that my God sustains me and guides until I can get back on track. It takes time and practice to give God praise during our time of need or pain, but as we grow in our relationship with Him, it is in these times we recognize that He is using those situations to mature us into the believers He created us to be.  

Bad attitudes come from being hurt and letting pain linger instead of letting it go. Some people think letting go of pain is a sign of weakness, absolving the person who did you wrong. But letting go…and letting God…is about creating an inner peace inside yourself, something no one can steal from you, knowing that God has your back and those who have hurt you will one day answer for their actions. When we stew in our anger, we develop an attitude that not only destroys us, it negatively affects everyone around us too. 

So, if you’ve been a Scrooge lately, maybe it’s time to amp up the gratitude. Trying writing down the things that you’re thankful for…maybe you can only come up with one thing…that’s okay. But as you shift from attitude to gratitude, you’ll see that it becomes easier and easier to see God’s handiwork in your life and listing all the ways He’s blessed you will overshadow all the ways you’ve been hurt. Let the battle of the ‘tudes begin!!