The blog entries have been far and few between recently. I have been caught up in the rat race of the human existence living day to day in the mediocrity of something I do not want to do for the rest of my life, often overlooking the simple blessings that lie before me. I have encountered and survived the burdens of authority with two-sided faces pretending to be something that a position would suggest otherwise often looking places he should not have been. I now face another enemy of sorts: the bad attitude of someone who pretends to walk on water and believe in Jesus from a claimed state of view (claiming to be something other than what is). I do not believe Jesus walked around as Lord with a badge of entitlement for the sacrifice He bestowed for all of humanity. I do not understand when in firm faith believers act as if they deserve what they have because truth be told we all deserve to go to hell in our own selfish ambitions.
I have recently met the true example of selfishness in someone who pretends to be just that good, too good for those who are around, even if performance would accentuate that this individual is in fact not the best. Perhaps one just thinks “I look the best” when one too many diet cokes are drank, but then again for those who have been spoon fed all their lives they tend to think they deserve a title. Entitlement often brings negativity for all those one looks down upon, and when you perform better than those who look down on you, that ergs them all the more because the attention is no longer on their own negative stupidity. You become a target of positive energy, excitement, and enthusiasm that overcomes the stench of negativity.
What stinks most about this predicament is that until I move onto better things for my talents, I am stuck with the negativity of someone who thinks one is better than all that are around, surrounded by pretending with facework to deceive. A bad magic trick has no secret. There is no deception behind a sour attitude and a cold heart that responds that “I do not want to get my hands dirty” when approaches to community service are in discussion. It really is a matter of insecurity. It is also a matter of the heart. Sour attitudes are a window into the soul where insecurity of one’s place remains in jeopardy. Our hearts expose our inner passions. Hence those who are continuously negative (beyond your usual venting from stress) are focused on one thing, ME. One may be too good to even speak with you, but eventually you get what you deserve or what you do not deserve, whichever comes first I suppose. Those who work earn a living and deserve the food they eat. Those who pretend the world revolves around their own orbit may one day find they are alone when no one is there to clean up the mess. They goof off without something to eat because fake wages are no longer extended to those who do not work and who are held accountable at certain times by no one.
I once heard someone say, “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.” I survived the dictatorial leadership of a fake man in the cloth. I will outlast those with the negativity to drown a team and this number one positive, enthusiastic believer. Come at me with your best criticisms and anecdotes, but when it comes to a bad attitude without true perspective in the spirit of negativity, I will not listen. I will not take part. And I will certainly be nothing like those where the heart is sour and the soul lurks in the darkness of selfishness. I am preparing for the end of the fourth quarter as a winner. I choose to be positive. I choose to be good. I choose to serve. I choose to be different than that person. I choose to glorify Him by rising above because in the end that is all that matters. A bad attitude will certainly always stink. I do not care who you pretend to be. You are not fooling me. And you are certainly not going to fool Him. You may not be the best in talent at what you do, but your attitude will reflect the true nature of your soul. I never want others to question my character in the fakeness of a portrayal for something I am not. I refuse to be that person, and in the example of what I do not want to be, I have learned what not to be.
I will never act as if I am too good to speak to you. In fact, I would treat you as I would hope to be treated because my heart is in the right place, and I therefore also hope my attitude reflects the relationship I have in Christ. This year I will prepare in the fight that I plan to win. Those with negative aspirations can fuel the fire within my heart to chase after Him who loves me more than we will ever know, my Jesus.
This Christmas, I remember the sacrifice of a crucifixion that saved me. Amen.
