I can almost hear the evil counsel.
Leader:  “How can we keep the humans down? Some of them are making better lives for themselves.  This must stop!”
Minion 1:  “I know!  Let’s keep telling them that they are powerless to change their outcomes.  We can keep them hopeless.”
Minion 2:  “Right!  And make sure that they blame others for their situation.  That way they are stuck.”
Minion 3:  “And never suggest that they have the power to change their behavior and get better results.”
Minion 4:  “And never, ever let them understand that they can get power from (shudder) the All-Powerful One!”

As soon as we slip into our default human inclination to react with wrong attitudes, we lose our power to improve our situation.  For instance, when we blame someone else, we give up our power to change our circumstances.  If our well-being depends on someone else, we must change them.  But we can’t actually change someone else. So we are doomed.  But if our well-being depends on Jesus, we have his power to change ourselves and bring about a good outcome.

As soon as we slide into wrong attitudes we give up the power to change our situation for the better.  Here’s why:  the only good power is God’s power.  He has promised to empower us to do the right thing which results in good for us and glory for him.  But when we give control to wrong attitudes and actions, God can no longer empower us.  We have stepped into the darkness.  He will never empower us to be angry, self-centered, defeated, complaining, unkind, lying, or lazy.  His power only works in us for good.  He helps us be loving, joyful, at peace, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.  He makes us generous, long-suffering, unselfish, and all the ways humans thrive together.

Here’s a short list of the ways we sabotage ourselves and deprive ourselves of the power of God in our lives.  Whew!  Know how I came up with this list?  I’ve done them all.   And guess what?  The outcomes weren’t good!

Anger or our euphemism, frustration, steals our power to create a good outcome.  (The exception is righteous anger when we need to defend someone.)
Self-pity which is a form of self-centeredness – God is mean to me.  I know better than God what is best for me.  I deserve better than this.
Condemning others without grace-  they are stupid, or mean, or have advantages I don’t.  They’ll never change.  They won’t listen.
Laziness- I don’t feel like doing it.  It’s hard, so someone should help me or do it for me.
Lying or its little brother- exaggeration. My situation is terrible. I have it very hard.
Lack of faith- underestimating God’s power- The problem is bigger than I can deal with and God isn’t helping me.
Defeated- Things aren’t going well.  I haven’t been successful at this, so I guess I never will.
Complaining- repeating my problems in order to get sympathy or make others look bad.
Excuse-making to justify my own shortcomings.  I can’t succeed because I don’t have enough. . . money,  education, support, time, resources.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”  Galatians 5:22-23

We have God’s own Spirit in us that empowers us far beyond what we even dared to hope for.  These attitudes push us forward by the power of God:

Love– instead of blaming others, God’s love enables us to accept their shortcomings and forgive them.  This forgiveness frees us to take responsibility for our own behavior without wasting energy seeking revenge.
Joy is God’s medicine that cures complaining and self-pity.  Being happy and thankful for what God does for us puts us in a powerful mindset.
Peace from God gives us rest and calms the worries and fears that sap our energy.
Patience from God helps us prayerfully wait for God to help us.  We trust his timing and hope in his kindness. His patience also helps us give others grace when they fail.
Kindness is an attribute of God who send rains on the faithful and the unbelieving.  He helps us be kind to those who deserve it and those who don’t.  We don’t have to judge and belittle another human being.  (We do have to decide if their behavior is good or bad so we’re not sucked in.)
Goodness is the anecdote for selfishness.  With God’s power we look out for others instead of being preoccupied with self.
Faithfulness is God’s power to withstand setbacks and keep trusting and doing the right thing.  It supersedes our excuses and infuses us with grit.
Gentleness– Giving others grace.  Bearing with their frailties remembering that all of us are dust.  God enables us to show respect even when they aren’t respectful or respectable.
Self-control is God’s power at work in us to overcome our wrong inclinations.  God enables us to keep our negative behavior in check substituting it for behavior that brings success.  We feel like being lazy, but God’s power enables us to work hard.  We feel angry, but God’s power enables us to rise above it and deal calmly with the situation.

These Spirit-powered mindsets give us life and peace in a world that churns with death and strife.

“And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. . . letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”  Romans 8:2, 6