You have an attitude problem…I have an attitude problem…If I had a nickel for every time I heard a parent say “I don’t like your attitude”… I’d have a big pile of nickels… Attitude is a big deal. Your attitude is important. It makes a very big difference in life.
Paul told the Philippian church “Your attitude should be like that of Christ Jesus”. You should mimic Him and specifically His attitude. In other words, we need to change our perspective, viewpoint. Even if we are doing things well, there is room to be more like Christ. He is the benchmark we aim for. He is the goal and model which we should be seeking to emulate. And our attitude plays a big part of that.
So what is Jesus’ attitude? He starts out up high – being in very nature God. But He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. “Grasped” in this sense is more like “exploited, grabbed, taken for one’s own advantage”. The NIV editorial board updated the translation here to read “did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.” He was not willing to use His Divinity for His own benefit. He refused to exploit His authority.
He takes on the form of a servant. There are two words for servant- diakonos (where we get the word deacon) which is an administrator, server, waiter, attendant. But then there’s doulos – a bondservant, slave, one without any authority. Jesus becomes a doulos.
Being made in the image of mankind (quite the interesting flip- mankind was made in God’s image, now He is made in the image of mankind), he humbled Himself again, becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross. He obeys death. The cross is the ultimate in humility. He has gone from the highest heights to lowest low.
God is most fully glorified through the act of being a doulos. God is most fully glorified by serving us. You would think God would be most glorified by being up there, unapproachable, heavenly, holy, untainted by mingling with us. But God says to us: “No, the most glorious thing I can do is to be humble, be a servant of all. Because through this act, men and women will live forever with Me.” So God exalted Jesus because He obeyed,
Want God to show you favour? Want to experience what it means know the pleasure and joy of God? Humble yourself. Serve. Love. Pour yourself out. Make your attitude like that of Jesus Christ. Jesus said “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (diakonos) and whoever wants to be first must be your slave (doulos)”. Give of yourself. Lose yourself for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Become a doulos of Jesus Christ. Paul, Peter, Jude, James and John all use that title: doulos of Jesus Christ. Servant or slave is not exactly a title you’ll use if you are trying to flatter yourself. But that’s what we’re called to take on: doulos.
So, do you have an attitude problem? Do you need an attitude adjustment? Are you willing to be the servant of all to give your life over so that others might live? (GRAHAM WARE)