(Back to Home)

In 1811, a distant relative of mine made flight history. Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger, by profession a tailor in Ulm, Germany, constructed "kite wings" out of cloth and tried to glide from the high side of the Danube River to the other side. He had apparently "flown" before, but this was the first time he tried it over the river. Even though it was in late spring and there were no hot air updrafts to sustain his flight, there was a Bavarian emperor present. So he did it anyway and subsequently plummeted straight into the Danube River. A saying developed out of this historical experience—loosely translated into English:

The Ulm tailor attempted to fly on a whim,

But the devil led him into the Danube to swim.

Although his good name was finally vindicated in 1986 (175 years later) when someone flew across the river in a reproduction of Berblinger's design, he is still looked on as a failure. To my knowledge, there's no record of him attempting it again.

I used to think good attitudes were just for those people who were happy and nice all the time. God made them that way—they were wired to be happy! Some of you who know me may be surprised to find out that I'm kind of a critical thinker/melancholy kind of a guy, so self-help books on this subject really haven't scratched me where I itch. One writer wrote that he was convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to him and 90 percent how he reacts to it. In my cynicism, all I can say is he must lead a very safe and secure life.

Keeping a stiff upper lip in the midst of a difficult situation can be very challenging. For example,

• Continuing to work well when a coworker misstates something in front of the boss that makes you look bad
• Extending grace to a spouse who continues to lie to you
• Trying to respect a parent or teacher who appears not to understand you (or not care)
• Facing a medical decision that could radically change your life or the life of a loved one
• Watching your children go through hard times with peers at school
• Accepting a fellow Christian who defines life differently than you do

These are all difficult challenges—some more serious than others.

So how are we as Christians supposed to respond to life's challenges? How do we rise above the difficulties? How do we get ourselves off the ground and into orbit with a winning attitude?

(More)

The New Testament of the Bible is made up of a few biographies about Jesus and several letters written by early church fathers to both individuals and to churches. One such letter was written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison for preaching the message of Jesus Christ (possibly in Rome). Paul apparently thought well of the people in the church at Philippi, because he laces his letter with phrases such as

• I thank my God every time I remember you
• You are partners with me in grace
• You provided for my needs twice
• All the saints, especially those of the emperor's household, greet you

Although Paul may have been under a type of house-arrestm, as opposed to lying in a dungeon, he also knew that he could die as a result of his imprisonment. His letter of encouragement to the Philippians is still to this day a letter of encouragement to us. In Philippians 2:1–2, he says, "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose."

There's no indication that the church members were fighting or quarreling with each other, no indication that they were having difficulties in their jobs or in their homes. Nevertheless, he apparently could see the proverbial writing on the wall. It's like what happens in just doing life, such challenges would come, and he was encouraging them to continue loving each other and working together for the cause of Christ so that when those difficult times did arise, they could be worked out properly.

In Philippians 3–4, Paul gets a little more specific in his instruction, "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing."

Take a moment and think of a person you admire. It could be another student or another mother/father, or a fellow worker, etc. Now ask yourself these questions:

• Do they only think of themselves?
• Or do they express interest in your life as well?
• Do they spend time and money on trying to impress others?
• Does their conversation consist only of their own exploits?
• Or do they stop and sincerely ask your opinion on a subject?

Chances are, these people make you feel cared for, wanted, worth something.

The person Paul is describing here is a servant—someone who gives to others—a person who is humble, not self-centered. He is saying to us today, "Look at the ones around you—in your home, in your classes, at your job, in your church. Care for others, not just for your own concerns. Even go so far as to consider others to be more important than yourself!" This is very radical, and makes us quite vulnerable in some cases.

Paul adds credence to his instructions by referring to Jesus as this model servant in Philippians 5, "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had."

The actual text has more of a flavor of continuation: "Keep on thinking in the same attitude that Christ had when he was on this earth." Our example is Jesus himself. If we want to know how to get going on a winning attitude, if we want to know how to get off the ground and into orbit, we need to look to Him for our example. Of course, just like Paul, it may cost you something.

At this point in prison, Paul seems to pause in his letter. In what seems to be a reflective moment, he quotes in Philippians 6–8 what we understand to be an early Christian hymn, "Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross."

Pascal, a French scientist who lived a few centuries ago, is known to have stated these truths in the form of a logical argument:

• God is totally good, but we have made bad choices.
• Because we sinned, we should rightly pay for our own failures.
• But only a perfect God can pay completely for these sins.
• Therefore, we need a perfect God-Man who can pay for those sins. That person is Jesus Christ.

The winning attitude that Jesus displayed was one of humility, one of servanthood. He did not demand his rights, but allowed himself to suffer for our sake. And might I state, Jesus suffered without complaint, without anger. If we find ourselves serving and then getting angry about it, we are not displaying the attitude of Christ.

Philippians 9–11 finish off the hymn in response to Christ's sacrificial love, "Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Let's not be like my distant relative (the tailor who fell into the Danube) and become noted for failing to get into orbit. We need to keep in mind what Paul says later in his letter (Philippians 4:13,) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." If you want to be the best husband, the best wife, son, daughter, student, teacher, worker, or boss you can be, pursue an attitude of true humility—that of Christ. Let your attitude on life and all that it entails be like that of Jesus. He could have demanded all the courtesy shown to a deity, but he didn't take for granted his position. Instead, he humbled himself to the point of suffering for our sakes.

Let us remember God and all that he did for us through Jesus Christ. Let us bow our knees and our hearts to God and pray,

God, please help us with our attitudes.

Help us to get off the ground and into orbit.

Help us make this year a Jesus-focused year.