2 Corinthians 9 – Brandon Hatmaker “Chins Up”
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
"There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” – 2 Corinthians 9:1-2
Leadership goes beyond our words. It goes to our actions. As believers, as leaders, as leaders who are believers, we need to remember that our attitude will be contagious. No matter if it’s upbeat and positive or downtrodden and negative… others will see it, feel it, and emulate it.
Time after time I’ve heard others say that Christians just don’t seem happy. What a sad reality. And if that’s their perception, it’s their reality. We should take the advice of Paul from the next chapter, “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Not just to capture every thought for obedience to avoid sin, but we should apply this to our mindset as well… each moment we have a choice, do we see the glass half full or half empty. We have so much to gain from this effort. Hopefully it’s more than just a forced discipline.
But the root of enthusiasm and joy comes from a perspective of how we truly believe God sees us and how we see Him. Is their peace or contention in our spiritual stance? Is their condemnation (self inflicted or by others) that drag us down. I’m thankful today for the true knowledge that there is nothing to fear, that God has called us sons and daughters, and for that, we can find joy and enthusiasm in our journey.
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I think the attitude you are talking about springs from the heart. In the second part of the chapter Paul talks about giving. He says everybody should give what is in his heart to give. That is the key I think to living the Christian life. The heart holds it all. It takes care of pride and self pitty. It takes care of a true feeling of caring for our fellow man. The heart is where our body's blood starts and stops. It is the muscle that God uses to keep us alive and kicking. It is also the muscle God uses to use of us in His service. The heart is where or attitude of desire to show others God's love comes from. The heart is where true happiness comes from. That happiness that no matter what, whether your job has got you down, your boss just threw you under the bus, you got cut off in trafic, you had a fight with your kids or wife, you just had a bad day, no matter what the heart is where God tells us He loves us and died for us.
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