 I recently returned from a trip in a state of mind that could only be described as 'unhealthy'. I was angry, frustrated, disheartened, disgusted and quite simply embarrassed. To make things worse, those feelings were toward some of my colleagues. I had been on a ten day trip to Europe, four sectors, two different crews. As each sector unfolded I was continually confronted with some very disturbing attitudes and behaviours by some of my fellow colleagues, particularly the more senior ones. Displays of arrogance, self-importance and a complete disregard and lack of respect or understanding for other people and their tasks prevailed throughout the trip. It made me angry, furious, that somebody could think and believe that they were more important than another person simply because of their position. I know we all see it from time to time, and we usually just brush it off, but this time it really got to me. I really struggled to bite my tongue. All I wanted to do was have a go at them, to express my frustration and disbelief at their arrogance and question why they believed they had any right to treat other people the way they did.
Don't worry, I didn't. Besides acknowledging that I would probably just end up in the Chief Pilot's office, quite possibly lose my job, and ultimately have no effect on their attitude at all, I knew, deep down, that this is not what God would want me to do. Essentially our attitude is an inward disposition toward something external, such as people or things. It is these thoughts of our heart that essentially serve as the basis for our actions. "For as he thinks in his heart, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7) The Bible tells us in Philippians 2:5 "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus". I know most of you are thinking 'my attitude is pretty good, and I treat other people with respect'. Generally we do, however, we need to be continually checking that we have the right attitude toward our colleagues and ensuring that we don't elevate our own self-importance. No matter what position we hold, we are no more important than any other person in this world. We are all equal in God's eyes. This however is only one part of checking our attitude. When we find ourselves in a position like I was, it is so easy to be angry toward a person because of their lack of respect toward others. My attitude of frustration, anger and even disrespect toward that person began to affect the way I interacted with them. My outward actions, even if only subtle, began to become less Christ like. I no longer showed love, kindness, patience nor the other fruits of the spirit toward this person. The example I set was no longer that of Christ. I am a true believer that we lead by example. No matter what we say, people will judge us by what we do, by our actions. They will choose to either follow or reject, not only us, but our beliefs and purpose in life. Will we ever see the impact we have on people? Probably not, especially the ones we only share a small moment in time with. But be assured, every person we meet, we impact them in some way. Let that impact be a Christ like one, plant the seed, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Your Brother in Christ, Boyd |
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