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Adopting an Attitude

The word “attitude” has increased significantly in usage in recent years. Earlier, when the word was used to describe people, two choices predominated - good and bad. Now, the word seems to be associated more with assertiveness. When people are described as having “attitude” or even just “tude,” we expect them to be self-confident, sometimes to the point of rudeness.

Many different situations may provoke us to adopt an attitude of some kind. People have a variety of attitudes regarding, for example, the poor, religion, health care, personal freedom, power, street drugs, relationships, sexuality, travel, and just about anything else you can think of, including ourselves.

Jesus made a statement which is recorded three times in the gospels. He said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13; Luke 5:32; Mark 2:17) “Righteous” is used in an absolute way when referring to God - as in “righteous Father” (John 17:25) or “righteous Judge.” (2 Timothy 4:8) When used to describe people, “righteous” is used in a relative way.

Everyone who heard Jesus knew that some people were “more righteous” than others. In their context, these people were more diligent about keeping God’s moral law and observing the ceremonial law. Ironically, truly righteous people were very aware of how short they fell in their efforts. They tried hard to love God and their neighbours and to observe all the rules, but they knew they didn’t succeed very well. These righteous people knew that in spite of their trying to be righteous, they were sinners.

Others saw things differently. These people were characterized by self-love rather than love for God and their neighbours. They were quite willing to trample others in their public observance of ceremonies and rituals which would make them look good. While not “righteous” in the true sense of the word, they were “self-righteous” - righteous in their own eyes. These self-righteous people considered that their efforts to be righteous were stunningly successful. These were people, who in their day, didn’t just have “attitude.” They had “tude.” They really thought they were better than everyone else. They dared anyone to suggest otherwise.

When Jesus declared that He had not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance, he drew a line between those who knew they were sinners and would accept His teaching and those who considered themselves to be righteous already and in no need of repentance. Though the context is different, both kinds of people are still around today.

When it comes to our attitude toward ourselves, there’s a world of difference between one which supports self-righteousness and closes the door to a relationship with God and one which recognizes our sinfulness and opens the door to repentance and salvation.

Ron Hughes
© September 2008