In His "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus gave a handful of "prescriptions" for a "happy" or "blessed" life. Rather than calling them the "beatitudes," one little boy (in his Sunday school class) mistakenly referred to them as the "beautiful attitudes." Perhaps he was not so mistaken after all, as those eight precepts (taught by the Lord) were all about one's attitude, towards God, towards others, and towards themselves.

The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Saints at Rome, similarly offered what feel like "beatitudes" or "prescriptions" for happiness. Each of his three suggestions were all grounded in the principle of faith. Paul counsels, "Let your hope keep you joyful," meaning, if you believe in the promises of Christ, you have joy in just about any situation. Likewise, he says we should try to "be patient in our troubles," because impatience during troubles only makes them worse, but it also can cause us to lose faith and hope. Finally, Paul advises us to "pray at all times"-not literally "at all times," as we have to sleep, eat, work, and focus on other things at time. But he seems to be suggesting that your prayers shouldn't be offered up just when you get up or when you go to bed. Rather, when you're doing things that don't require a lot of focus to complete your task, talk to God as you go about your day and your duties. Paul's invitation (in Romans 12) is not really three separate beatitudes (i.e., 1. Be positive, 2. Be patient, 3. Be prayerful). Rather, each of these invites us to develop the "beatitude" of faith-of trusting in God that everything is going to work out, and according to God's divine timing. And if we'll talk to God throughout our days, we'll find that feelings of fear and doubt flee, because focusing on God allows us to have hope and trust in Him.