Attitude Adjustment

     I have a problem with my attitude!
     If someone pushes me, I want to push them back harder. If I am wronged, I feel entitled to hold a grudge. If things don't go my way, I feel that I should be able to pout in an attempt to get my way.
     Yesterday, I was on a phone conversation with someone with all those attitudes. They sounded so  childish.... so entitled...... so ugly.....   Then a realization hit me straight in the mouth. That is how I sound when I let my attitude go.
      It was to people like me that Jesus spoke the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 4-6). He starts with the "BeAttitudes" which outline the attitudes of a person who is truly happy. Unfortunately, those don't look very much like my attitudes. According to Jesus, the person who is blessed is the one getting kicked around and taking it.
      Then, he goes on to say that isn't so much the action, but the attitude behind the sin. Adultery is a matter of the heart; lust is committed long before sex happens. Murder is a matter of the heart; your anger reveals that you think you are better than the other. Swearing isn't about words; it is a desire to control God and humans.
      I don't have time to talk about "giving to those who ask" and "turning the other cheek." And, I am not really sure that I want to.
      My point is that we all have this entitled two year old inside us. And Jesus informs us that the only way to live a truly happy and fulfilled life is to reject that selfish person and become a giving, loving person.
      I guess now we know why most people are really miserable!!!