Aloha Friday Message – January 30, 2026 – WWnJD and the Bee-Attitudes

2605AFC013026 – WWJnD (and the Bee-Attitudes) ← PODCAST LINK 😀

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Zephaniah 2:3 –
³Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
    who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
    perhaps you may be hidden
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.

Psalm 146:5-6 –
⁵Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
⁶who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (GNT) [1] ³⁰But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free. ³¹So then, as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.”

Matthew 5:6 – ⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. We are already in the 4^th week in Ordinary Time. This week I would like to look at some recommendations about walking with Christ. How much time do we devote to actually being with Jesus every day? Time is the only resource that is equally accessible to everyone. My late friend Joann Hauler used to say, “We all get the same suitcase. How we pack is what makes the difference.” There are 168 hours in a week. If we suppose that it takes 30 minutes to get dressed and go to church, an hour in church, and 30 minutes to get back home, that’s two hours a week given to God. Two divided by 168 = 1.2% of a week. That’s a pretty small tithe! A true and willing tithe – 10% – would be about 17 hours a week. Seventeen divided by 7 = 2.4 hours per day. Not many of us are able (or willing!) to arrange our lives to put in that much time daily. Still, how can we follow The Apostle Paul’s teaching to “pray without ceasing?” Well, one way is to make our whole day a prayer as described in 2221AFC052722 – Make me an offer(ing)

Why do we choose to spend so little time with our Creator with our Savior with our blessed Lord? The longer I think about it the more I believe it comes down to one simple word: attitude. The Apostle Paul told us in Philippians 2:5 – ⁵The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: This brings to mind something from the 80’s,

What Would Jesus Do?

Talk about a loaded question! It seems that in our lives it boils down to something more like, “What would Jesus NOT do?” (WWJnD?) He probably wouldn’t do a lot of the things that churn up our consciences. Maybe that is what should churn up our consciences! I envision that idea of conscience as “that little old man in the back-right corner of my brain.” If he is a pest at times it is only because I am so often a fool at times, and either argue with him or ignore him. That pretty much always turns out to be a mistake. As St. Paul rightly pointed out so many times, it comes down to attitude.

There’s a word I’ve always had trouble with in my personal and public life. “Drop the attitude!” I certainly heard that often while growing up in Denver. Think of “attitude” and the outcome of a judgment of someone or something (most noun-forms would fit here – person, place, animal, thing, or idea) a judgment that is rife with emotion. It can be a positive or negative thing. “He’s got a great attitude!” “You’ve got a really bad attitude young man!” A friend who performed comedy often says, “He’s suffering from a bad altitude.” While obviously a punny malaprop, it really gets at the core idea of attitude in a very graphic way. Turn on that movie screen inside the front of your forehead and imagine a biplane headed cross-country. With a good altitude, the pilot (that little guy I mentioned) can clear most obstacles easily. With a bad altitude, everything from the chicken coop to the mountains can end up in a catastrophic crash.

We can ask ourselves “What sort of attitude must I have to make my life more like the attitude of Jesus? Well, first we could look at what that means. The Apostle Paul consistently tells us that we need to model our lives in the image and form of the life of Christ. There is an interesting preposition in this passage of Philippians 2:5 (above) that conveyed that quite clearly to the Philippians – and to us if we are attentive: also in Christ Jesus. The conjunction – also – in Greek is kai, and another way to read it in this passage is “indeed” or “even.” The preposition used there is έν [en]. The connotation is of something that is permanently and naturally (uncontrived) unchanging in place, time, or condition, something that is an integral part of the location or entity. Jesus’ attitude of love, ἀγάπη, was and is a permanent, natural, integral aspect of Jesus as Lord.

That’s the kind of LOVE Paul is reminding us Jesus commanded us to cultivate and share.

To me the verse, “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus” now comes out as “Ensure that your disposition toward all things is identical to the predominant and fundamental disposition of Christ: Perfectly modest, humble, and unselfish and utterly consecrated to the service of God and one another.” Paul has an uncanny way of packing 10 pounds of meaning into a 3-pound jar!

NOW, how does our attitude stack up with that? The Apostle Paul tells us Christ required, and submitted to, humility before all other things. It took humility to obey. It took humility to empty himself and become an earthling. It took humility to direct his life and our hearts to God. It took humility to lay down his Life as an Act of Love. It takes Love to be humble. “Be Humble Like Jesus.” B.H.L.J. I guess if I really want to do that, I should stop imagining T-shirts and bumper-stickers with that printed in big, bold letters.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:1 – (GNT) ¹ I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong (↔ Click Link) or a clanging bell. Using the same transformative imagery here, that could be imagery in 1st Corinthians and transposing it here: “You should be a symphony of loving kindness rather than the loud noise of selfish conceits.” My life should ring like a crystal bell; instead it sounds like an empty garbage can kicked down a very long staircase. Our attitude cannot, must not, be an attitude of self-aggrandization.

Something like that would look like the sound of a dozen trash cans being kicked down the stair. Maybe it would be better to just listen to that little old guy in the back of my head, zip my lip, and light up my heart so I can clearly see all the things I do that Jesus wouldn’t do. What did he tell us to do?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Not power, not fame, not money, not carnal desires; RIGHTEOUSNESS. Do the right thing. Do right things better and better things right. Where do we start? ³Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the Lord’s wrath. Seek him? Where? Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob. We find God in the company of the Peoples who are blessed by God, in the community of the People of F.A.I.T.H. When? When we gather together (↔ Music Link)? Because why? Because we are created in the likeness and image of God, and God is COMMUNITY. How can we know that?

Simple: the very second we start walking with him, we are in his community, just the two of us, “and where two or more are gathered … .” Are we then united with him?But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free. Free from … ? All that the World has to offer. Now, that is something to boast about! But not by us because it is God who has done all that we need to find a great ALTITUDE – a Heavenly Altitude. So then, as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.”

Where does Scripture say that? Right here: Jeremiah 9:23-24 – (GNT)
²³The Lord says,

“The wise should not boast of their wisdom,
    nor the strong of their strength,
    nor the rich of their wealth.
²⁴If any want to boast,
    they should boast that they know and understand me,
because my love is constant,
    and I do what is just and right.
These are the things that please me.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”

There we go! We have God’s Word on it! Our Love must also be constant, we must also do what is just and right (Micah 6:8 – again! Lots of good resources there.). And if we learn to be just, merciful, humble, and make our entire day an offering of Praise, Adoration, and Thanksgiving? What then? Well, that “tithe” of our Time jumps up well beyond 1.2%; however, that’s still nothing to brag about, because it is only a portion – perhaps even a just portion – of all that we are, and all that we have, but Jesus paid it all. (↔ Music Link) I want to be like Jesus so I want to be a Christian In My Heart. (↔ Music Link) How about you? well, here are some suggestions from the Bee-Attitude Hive:
Bee kind always.

We are called human beings, not human doings. Click these links ~~

So in happy moments, be praising God.
In difficult moments, be seeking God.
In quiet moments, be worshiping God.
In painful moments, be trusting of God.
In every moment, be thanking God. (← Don’t miss this one to read OUT LOUD )
Use the Bee-Attitudes every day!
“BEE”-attitudes
Bee wise Proverbs 8:33
Bee strong Ephesians 6:10
Bee glad Psalm 32:11
Bee merciful Luke 6:36
Bee content Hebrews 13:5
Bee courteous 1 Peter 3:8
Bee faithful Revelation 2:10
Bee kind Ephesians 4:32
Bee thankful Psalm 100:4
Bee at Peace Philippians 4:6-7
Bee Reverent Proverbs 9:10
BHLJ OK (← Check it out!)

For those of you who are reading this online, there is a special addon after the photo at the end of this section. It will help us to remember things we should do because Jesus would do them. WWJnD? Anything that does not arise out of humble Love – and he never bragged about that. He just did it. WE can knuckle down, buckle up, and give it our best shot. If we give what we’ve got, we’ve got enough to give. Aim correctly, shoot straight.

STAY ON TARGET!

Ad astra per aspera cum spe!!!

Sow the seeds God gave you,
not your “wild oats” from that other guy.

Today I will:

Pay Attention.
Listen.
Be Open-Minded.
Not Gossip.
Speak Quietly.
Show Respect.
Be Agreeable When Suitable.
Apologize Appropriately.
Give Constructive Criticism.
Take Responsibility For My Actions.
Do right things better and better things right.
Above all, be honest. Integrity is not for sale.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!

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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License