Attitude and Atmosphere

2 Samuel 19:5-7 "Then Joab went to the king’s room and said to him, “We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves. 6  You seem to love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased. 7  Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before.” 

David's actions and attitude caused his men to grieve instead of rejoice. They had just won a great victory but David's attitude created an atmosphere of defeat. And isn't that what our attitudes do? Attitudes create atmospheres; let one of your family members come home with a bad attitude and the atmosphere changes in your home. The greater your authority the greater the change of atmosphere is. Mom and Dad's attitude has a greater influence over the atmosphere than the children do. In the Church the attitude of those leading sets the atmosphere of those following. When the atmosphere in a church is negative, discouraged or grieved it can be traced to someone in leadership and ultimately the atmosphere is set by the pastor.

Our job as leaders should be to create an atmosphere of expectancy where the presence, power and purpose of God is manifested in the lives of his people. That atmosphere begins with an attitude of expectation in the heart of the pastor or leader. If you as the leader come expecting God to show up and show out in the lives of his people, then the atmosphere is set for people's lives to be changed.

Now back to the story, David's attitude went south because he had just found out that his son had been killed. Even though Absalom was leading the army fighting David, he was still David's son.

So how does a leader deal with personal grief and difficulty without bringing his people down. We have to recognize that what is happening to us, doesn't change who God is. Our lives might stink, but God doesn't. We may be going through a very difficult season in our personal lives, but God is still Good, Holy, Righteous and Worthy of Praise.

One of the defining marks of a leader, is the leaders ability to say positive when his personal life is filled with the negative heart aches and heart breaks of life. If as a leader you can stay focused during the difficult times of life, not only will you lead your people well, but you will shorten the season of difficulty and bless your family in the process. Every thing works better in an atmosphere of faith and expectancy