"Attitude is Everything"
By Dr. Mickey Anders
First Christian Church
Pikeville, Kentucky
September 19, 1999
Text: Exodus 16:2-15
Robert Fulghum, author of "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," wrote a very interesting piece about yelling and complaining. He says:
"In the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific some villagers practice a unique form of logging. If a tree is too large to be felled with an ax, the natives cut it down by yelling at it... Woodsmen with special powers creep up on a tree just at dawn and suddenly scream at it at the top of their lungs. They continue this for thirty days. The tree dies and falls over. The theory is that the hollering kills the spirit of the tree. According to the villagers, it always works.
Fulghum observes, "Ah, those poor naive innocents. Such quaintly charming habits of the jungle. Screaming at trees, indeed. How primitive! Too bad they don't have the advantages of modern technology and the scientific mind."
Then he adds, "Me? I yell at my wife. And yell at the telephone and the lawn mower. And yell at the TV and the newspaper and my children. I've been known to shake my fist and yell at the sky at times.
"The man next door yells at his car a lot. And this summer I heard him yell at a stepladder for most of an afternoon. We modern, urban, educated folks yell at traffic and umpires and bills and banks and machines--especially machines. Machines and relatives get most of the yelling."
In our Scripture for today, Moses was on the receiving end of all the yelling and complaining. And the people of Israel were masters at it. By this point in the story, we have seen the grumbling of the Israelites over and over again. Each time they encountered hardship they would make their way to Moses' tent and yell and complain bitterly.
Verse three records their complaints this way, "If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots and ate our fill of bread."
The word "complain" is found seven times in the 13 verses of our text.
Verse 2: "The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against
Moses and Aaron..."
Verse 7: Moses said, "(God) has heard your complaining against the
Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?"
Verse 8: Moses said, "The LORD has heard the complaining that you utter
against him - what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against
the LORD."
Verse 9: Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of
the Israelites, 'Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.
'"
Verse 12: The Lord says, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites..."
I can't help but picture the people of Israel as looking like those sad characters on the old country music show Hee Haw when they sang these words:
"Gloom, despair, and agony on me,
Deep dark depression, excessive misery;
if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.
Gloom, despair, and agony on me."
Can you imagine the sadness in God's heart upon seeing the Israelites turn against his chosen leaders, Moses and Aaron? Through them God had protected them from the various plagues and had led them through the Red Sea. On the edge of the Red Sea, the people responded initially with singing and rejoicing led by Moses and his sister Miriam.
But then Moses led them into the wilderness of Shur where they went three days without water, and the water they found at Marah was bitter. And the people began their murmuring and complaining to Moses. God showed Moses a tree, which he threw into the water, and the water became sweet.
God overlooked their disrespect and ingratitude and promised them bread from heaven as a breakfast provision and fresh quail meat for supper. All they have to do was come and get it. But even then, they weren't happy because they had to gather it every day, and they couldn't gather enough for more than one day.
It's easy to point a finger at the complaining people of Israel and wonder why they didn't have a better attitude. But before we point an accusing finger, we need to remember our own ingratitude toward God. These few chapters point out an amazing truth about human nature - we all have a tendency to complain in spite of all that is done for us.
Somewhere I read the story of a grandmother who had taken her 3-year-old grandson to the beach one summer day. A powerful rip tide caught the boy and pulled him out to sea and under the water. The frantic grandmother began to cry and scream. In desperation, she cried out to God, "Oh, please, God, hear my prayer and give my grandson back to me." Well, sure enough, the very next wave came crashing to the shore and threw her grandson right back at her feet. She picked the boy up and found that he was breathing fine and apparently no worse for the wear. Then she turned her head upward and with an exasperated tone of voice said, "Well! He had hat on!"
Perhaps this Scripture passage can be a lesson for all of us to take a long hard look at our attitude. Attitude can make all the difference in our lives.
Charles Swindoll wrote a wonderful paragraph about attitude in his book, Strengthening Your Grip. He said:
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes."
We really do have a choice about our attitude. Like the Israelites, we can be critical and complain about everything that happens to us. Or we can look on the positive side with an attitude of faith that the God who parted the Red Sea just might still be at work in the world.
I remember reading about a certain man who went to church one Sunday. He frowned when the organist missed a note. He glared menacingly at two whispering teenagers. He looked repeatedly at his watch. When the offering plate was passed, he felt that the usher was watching to see how much he gave. He sat tight-lipped during all of the hymn singing. During the sermon, he felt pleased with himself when he caught the preacher making a slip of the tongue. As he sneaked out a side door during Communion, he muttered to himself, "That was a terrible service, why do I bother?"
Another man went to church on the same Sunday. He chuckled at the sight of a father exchanging hugs with the toddler. During the Offertory he wondered, "God has given me so much. Am I giving enough?" He struggled honestly with the scripture readings to find a word to live by. Part of the sermon helped him with a question he had often thought about. He enthusiastically joined in the singing of the closing hymn. As he left the church, he thought to himself, "How good it is to be here together in God's presence."
Both men had gone to the same church, on the same Sunday, and each had found exactly what he was looking for. Attitude made all the difference.
But sometimes we find it hard to have a positive attitude. It is so easy to complain about dirty dishes, stinky laundry, and unmade beds. It's so easy to look on the negative side. I suppose the Israelites got really tired of quail and manna after they had tried Manna Soup, Manna & Quail Casserole, Quail & Manna Casserole, Hot & Spicy Shredded Manna, Baked Quail with Sour Manna Sauce, and Sweet & Sour Manna. I'm sure they got tired of the same food every day, but they had the wrong attitude. They forgot how bad things would be without God's help.
One lady demonstrated the attitude we need to have when she wrote this
unusual prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to
eat.
Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of
nice clothes to wear.
And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were
so warm and comfortable last night. I know that many have no bed.
My thanks to you, Lord for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered,
messy, soggy, grimy towels and the dirty lavatory, they are so convenient.
Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting
so badly; it has served us faithfully for many years. It is full
of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.
Thank you Lord for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today;
it has baked so many good meals over the years. The whole family is grateful
for this tall grass that needs mowing and the lawn that needs raking; we
all enjoy the yard.
Thank you Lord even for that slamming screen door. My kids are
healthy and able to run and play.
Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says that You have
richly blessed my family. I shall do them cheerfully and gratefully.
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, thank
you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long
as possible, thank you Lord, that I can see; many are blind.
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, thank you Lord that
I have the strength to rise; there are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost,
toast is burned and tempers are short, and my children are so loud; thank
you Lord for my family; there are many who are lonely.
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the picture in a magazines
and the menu is at times not balanced, thank you Lord for the food we have;
there are many who are hungry.
Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous, thank you Lord
for the opportunity to work; there are many who have no job.
Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my
circumstances were not so modest, thank you Lord, for Life.
Attitude is a choice, but it makes all the difference.