June began a new quarter in our Sunday school lessons at our church. The new study began in 1 Corinthians. The ancient city of Corinth was rich in worldly wisdom and philosophy. The missionary Paul spent several months laboring there and starting a church. Not long after he left, he received word the worldly influence had begun to corrupt the church.
Paul's first letter to the church was one that expressed frustration and concern over their lack of spiritual growth and discernment. Yesterday, the study focused on chapter three where Paul stressed the importance of not allowing 'preacher religion' to enter our church. We must remember that although our pastors / leaders are gifted individuals and likely will have winsome personalities, it is not that personality that we must follow. We must follow Christ! If our pastor is doing his job properly, he is following Christ and in following our pastor, we are following Christ. But Christ is the Shepherd ~ our pastor is the under-shepherd.
Our Bible study leader also mentioned a great piece written by Chuck Swindoll, the well-known pastor / author / radio host. I wanted to pass it on to you today. Our attitude toward our spiritual leaders must be in line with God's Word. Please consider this and pray for God's wisdom today concerning your attitude to our church and spiritual leaders.
ATTITUDE
by
Charles Swindoll
"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, 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 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 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”
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