#71 The Be Happy Attitude #3: Eight Principles for Successful Living (06/04/03)

The Message

By Robert H. Schuller

If you are not into Christianity, let me ask you the question: How in the world can a young man, only 30 years old, 2000 years ago, without any advanced academic studies come up with the eight principles that today, professionals, educators, and even psychiatrists, recognize as stunning in their capacity and power to shape human personalities? I'm talking about Jesus Christ whose eight sentences - called, The Beatitudes, came from His lips.

Today, we think of ourselves as being very educated people, with our bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees, but Jesus didn't have any of these academic credentials. None at all. He was educated in the Holy Bible, the Law, and the prophets. Jesus Christ's teachings have never been matched, and will never be matched or surpassed, by any professors in the leading departments of psychology, sociology or anthropology.

I've had the privilege of studying under two of the greatest psychiatrists of our century, Viktor Frankl and Karl Menninger. And in my continued study, at my age, I am more impacted and impressed by the stunning, insightful power of these eight Beatitudes that I have been with any other study in my life. I even wrote a book about these eight Beatitudes and I call them, "The Be-Happy Attitudes," (1985, Word Books).

Stop and think of these eight Beatitudes! They are the infrastructure for successful living. See how these eight principles come together so miraculously. There is no better proof of that than these Eight "Be-Happy" Attitudes.

Eight Principles for Successful Living

These eight be-happy attitudes are eight principles for successful living. Yes, Jesus wanted us to succeed and not fail to be a solution to society's problems. Success means you are creative, redemptive and live a life that glorifies God by making a positive difference in the world. Success is not a matter of how much money you have or how many cars you drive. It's not a matter of what accolades or awards you may or may not have received. Success is becoming the person God wants you to be. That's what is so fantastic.

Success really comes with salvation, because through salvation God is connecting with you, giving you ideas and challenges as you respond in faith. "For by grace you are saved through faith ..." (Ephesians 2:8)

The last two weeks, my son, Robert shared with you the first two principles of successful living - Beatitude #1 and #2 ... taught by Jesus ... not by my son or I. What they?

The number one principle, if you want to be a success, is "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." What does that mean? If you want to be successful, you have to be humble enough to know that you can't pull it off without help. You can't succeed alone. Being poor in spirit means that you say, "I can't do it alone" ... "I can't do it without help." Every one of us has to say that.

Then the second principle, if you re going to succeed, is Beatitude #2: "Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Get ready if you are going to live a challenging life ... be prepared for pain. "There is no gain without pain." Pain is a given. Death is a reality. Jesus taught this fundamental principle that when you mourn you can be comforted in your struggles and grief. When you hurt, you can bounce back!

The third principle, which we share this morning, is Beatitude #3: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Just think of this thirty-year old Jewish young man, who had never had a college education, teaching these principles. That's a ...WOW! And each one is so brilliant. I've had the benefit of a great education and I must tell you that the third principle to succeed is right on. If you want to inherit the earth, it means if you really want to be a success, you've got to be meek. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And what does it mean to be meek? The meek are not the weak.

To be meek does not mean that you are intimidated or manipulated. To be meek doesn't mean that you allow people to push you around. Instead, the meek are strong. That's important. You can't win if you don't have the strength. So what is the strength that meek people have? I put that in ten words:

Blessed are the meek:
#1 Be Cool

To be meek means to be cool. Keep cool. Take a deep breath. Watch your reaction. Be a positive reactionary. Apply that success principle to all of life, whether it is success in marriage or success in your place of employment or in your organization. You can be sure that the negative reactionary who reacts with anger, verbal abuse, or physical attack is not going to get very far in life. You want to succeed, so be cool. Be patient. Restrain your power wisely. Don't let anger control you. Don't let the compulsion to abuse, verbal or physical, have its way in your life. Be meek ... play it cool.

Blessed are the meek:
#2 Be Calm

You want to be a success so ... be calm. There is nothing you need more than patience, and the meek people are the people who have patience. So be calm ... learn to wait on the Lord.

"Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. He will strengthen your heart." (Psalm 27:14)
In the face of hurt, and we all have had our hurts ... in the face of danger, and many of us face dangers that we're not even aware of at the time ... or in the face of conflict, often between relationships or between goals and achievements ... be calm - yes, in all of these hurts, dangers, conflicts or defeats, be calm! Don't quit! Don't give up! Don't walk away. I'm preaching this morning from the experience of living to the age of 75+ and as your pastor and leader in the building of this church for 48 years.

Blessed are the meek:
#3 Be Controlled

Self control is a must. Control your moods. Control means having respect for law and order. Be controlled by a Higher Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Then your personality is changed and you will be known as a good and decent person. Ultimately success begins here. The meek do not say, "I'll do what I want. There is no law against it." ... "I do my own thing, as long as I don't hurt anybody." No, the meek recognizes that success requires the attitude: "I don't want my own way; I don't want to be wrong. I want to be controlled by the higher principles." Keep cool, calm and controlled.

Blessed are the meek:
#4 Be Coached

The meek want to be well coached. They are willing to listen to constructive criticism. They don't say, "Well, I've got my degrees, I've got my academic credentials, check my resume. I don't need a coach. I probably know more than these coaches know." That is arrogance. It is a lack of humility, the absolute opposite of what it means to be meek. Now you are beginning to see why the meek succeed and why the non-meek fail again and again and again.

I'll never forget when Beverly Sills sang in a stunning concert here in the Crystal Cathedral the year it was dedicated. She mentioned something about what her coach told her. I said to her, "Wait a minute. What did you say? Did I hear you correctly about your coach? You are Beverly Sills, you are the top opera singer in the world, not just in New York. You don't need a coach ... you can coach the coaches!"

"Oh no," she said. "I need a coach. We all need a coach because," she said, "our bodies are constantly changing ... our muscles, our breathing, everything."

Then I also remember Frank Sinatra, who was a friend and he donated a window in the Crystal Cathedral for his mother, also said he had a coach. Yes, we are all changing, our bodies are changing. We constantly need to be coached. I call that constructive criticism. Do you have a coach? Do you listen to anybody? To whom do you listen?

Blessed are the meek:
1) Be Cool ... 2) Be Calm ... 3) Be Controlled ... 4) Be Well Coached
#5 Ask Questions

The meek are questioning people. They ask questions. They ask leading questions instead of arguing or debating. The person who disagrees and is in conflict with you doesn't expect to be asked a simple, honest, humble question. He expects you to argue with him, but when you start asking him questions, what are you doing? You're complimenting him for at least being intelligent. Instead of a negative reaction against what might be bad judgment, you turn him into a potential teacher and friend. Wow. The meek are not "I know it all" persons. No, the meek person doesn't have that kind of an attitude. No wonder the meek succeed! Now you see why this path leads to success. The meek inherit the earth. Yes, they do!

Blessed are the meek:
#6 Be Charitable

I've noticed that meek people are often the ones who are the faithful and largest givers to charity ... and more often that not ... anonymously. In 24 months we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of this ministry. We started with $500 and in these 48 years almost all of the donations have come from common people, the meek, giving their generous and faithful support. We have also had 42 families who have made gifts in the seven-figure category, a million or more. Each dedicated donor gives without letting others know of their giving. They are the meek, the charitable, the generous persons who support the church of Jesus Christ.

My mother was a generous person. She didn't have money to give away. She held no office, received no fame, but as the mother of five kids she would bake an apple pie and ring the doorbell of a neighbor or even someone she didn't know. She would share what she could when the woman of the house was in the hospital or when there was a death or sickness or sadness. Jesus Christ calls us to be generous and charitable. Be meek. Can you see why the meek people are on a pathway that leads to success?

Blessed are the meek:
#7 Be Courteous

Meek people are always well mannered ... not pushy ... not shoving elbows ... not crowding. The Dilenschneider Report is distributed nationwide. It reports on the different trends happening in America. The most recent report says that today we, in America, are more ill-mannered than we've ever been in our society. Rudeness is in ... rude ... crude ... uncouth ... vulgar ... pushy ... shovey. As Christianity loses its impact in the secular society, good manners will diminish and courtesy will no longer exist. But the meek are courteous people. They take their place, they wait and when somebody cuts in front, they can even respond with a smile or "that's ok." Courtesy is a powerful quality of character that repays itself a thousand times over.

Blessed are the meek:
#8 Be Kind

Simple kindness ... a smile ... a touch ... love ... respect ... affection. What kind deed can you do today? In your home? On the street? Let others see kindness in your eyes and in the tone of your voice.

Blessed are the meek:
#9 Be Grateful

The meek are grateful people. They are really grateful. They don't forget to say, "thank you" ... and they say "thank you" because they know they owe it to you. The non-meek don't think that way. The non-meek think, "I earned it" ... "I worked for it" ... "I did it." The meek are not that way, they are grateful. "You bought my product." "You helped me." "You opened a door." "I'm very grateful."

Blessed are the meek:
#10 Be Christ-like

The meek are Christ-like. What does the world need today more than anything else? The world needs people like you and me who will try to be Jesus Christ where we are. The best we can be. Do you see why the world will never ever be able to discard Jesus Christ? Ask the question: Will Christianity survive everything that is going to happen in the future? Philosophies? Ideologies? Scientific theories? Will the Bible survive? Will Christianity? It surely will! We can't remain a civilization made up of people who live civil lives without the teachings of Jesus Christ. That's the truth! There is no other religious teacher who ever lived who gave the eight principles of successful living like this 30 year old man from Nazareth.

Do you want to be a success? Adopt the Be Happy Attitudes for successful living: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." You can't pull success off alone. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Be able to take hurts. Yes, you will weep, you will cry, and that is reality ... and you can bounce back. You will succeed.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Be cool ... be calm ... be controlled ... be well coached ... be a wise questioner ... be charitable ... be courageous ... be kind ... be grateful! Let Jesus live through your life and you will inherit the earth.

You shall inherit the earth? What does that mean? At my age I feel like I've inherited the earth, the world right around me. Yes, my wife, my son and my four daughters, we love, respect and honor each other. I've inherited the earth. The world that counts the most is my family which includes my 18 grandchildren. And I feel the love and trust from you, my congregation, here at the Crystal Cathedral and the Hour of Power. Why? Because of Jesus Christ. He makes the difference ... and what He's done for me, He will do for you. With every passing year you will become a kinder person ... a more charitable person ... a more courteous person ... a person who asks questions and is slow to issue judgmental statements. You will become an awesome person when you follow the Holy, Divine wisdom for living in these eight Beatitudes. Jesus Christ has to be the Son of God!

Do you know Him? Do you read His words? Do you listen to Him? I invite you, if you've never done so before, to make a decision to become a real Christian. Accept Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord, You're still at work in my life and it is wonderful! It is wonderful, Lord, that You have established Your church where every week, without fail, I can get a lift. It is Your Holy Spirit that lifts my spirits, and that is why I know You are real. Thank you. O God. Give me the courage to just reach out my hand for Your Invisible hand with a scar in the palm. And may I always be meek enough to say I need You, Jesus Christ to be my Savior. I need You to be my Coach to walk with me in my living, today and eternally. Amen