Solomon knew something about the power of attitude.  In Proverbs 4:23 he wrote, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”  The word “attitude” is not found in most translations of the Bible.  In the New American Standard Bible, where it appears nine times, it has been supplied by the translators.  In ancient times the heart symbolized one’s attitude.  And Solomon says we ought to guard it with “vigilance,” because from it flows the “springs of life.”  That is, everything we do and say and feel comes from our attitude.

The Bible is clear about the power our attitude has over ourselves.  “As he thinks in his heart,” Solomon says, “so is he” (Prov. 23:7, NKJV).  Jesus doubled this, speaking of the source of a sinful lifestyle:

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person (Mk. 7:21-23).

The good news is that once we learn this about our attitude, we know the secret to improving our lives: change the attitude and you change the whole life.

We often overlook the fact that, in addition to being a tremendous influence on our own lives, our attitude also affects the lives of others.  In his book Today Matters, John Maxwell writes,

One of my mentors, Fred Smith, once told me there are two kinds of people in any organization: polluters and purifiers.  Polluters are like smokestacks, belching out dirty smoke all the time.  They hate clear skies, and no matter how good it gets, they can find a way to make it gloomy.  When the people around them in the organization “breathe” their toxins, they feel sicker and sicker.  Purifiers, on the other hand, make everything around them better.  It doesn’t matter what kind of rotten atmosphere they encounter.  They take in the toxic words of polluters in the organization just as everyone else does, but they filter the words before passing them on.  What goes in may be gloomy and negative, but when it comes back out, it’s fresh and clear.

This principle is emphasized in the form of a warning in Proverbs, where the reader is warned about evil associations: “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.  Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on” (Prov. 4:14-15; cf. 1 Cor. 15:33).  Here the emphasis is upon the impact others’ attitudes make upon you.  Attitude is contagious.  The impact that our attitude makes on others for better or worse depends on its quality.

Take time to ponder your attitude.  What is it doing to your life?  How is it affecting the lives of others?  With God’s help, we can improve our attitudes, and because of the attitude’s great power, this will in turn improve our lives and the lives of those around us.