Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
We’ve been given several charges from Paul in these past few verses. One is to rejoice, then to be anxious for nothing, to pray and give thanks. Todays verse tells us what to think about.
Some may struggle with this by saying, “No one is going to tell me what to think.” They are misunderstanding. First off, we are His children and He is our Lord. So we have given Him the right to say. That may still cause some concern.
What they are missing is that He is a loving Father that wants the best for us. He’s telling us this to keep us out of trouble. Adam and Eve fell. We can to.
Many of us have had some bad experiences in which He’s rescued us from. I Corinthians 6:9-11 says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, norverbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” I appreciate the passage, “Such were some of you”. So true. He has rescued us from many bad things. To be guided to what to think is helpful. He is trying to keep us from slipping back into sin.
One can be comforted by looking at this list of what to think. It’s big and general. It’s quite freeing to know all of that is open to us. We aren’t limited to the religious or ministry. It’s that in most categories that fit that list.
Let’s look at these; the first is that which is true. There is much out there that is not true, that is deception. Yes, there are some that are seeking to lead us in there direction by falsehoods. There is much that is true. An obvious truth to a christian is the bible. That should be prominent. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly”, (Colossians 3:16a).
Next is whatever is honorable. Honor seems to be outdated in our culture. I can remember visiting one of my wife’s relatives in Tennessee. She referred to the honor court at her high school. This dealt with keeping the rules at her high school. Jesus talked about laying one’s life down for His friends. That’s honorable.
Next is whatever is right. While there is much disagreement on this in our culture, I feel like many have abandoned common sense. Much of this has happened due to the deception. Many happily jump on this bandwagon. I don’t think this means we are to share our opinions often, but to know what is right.
Next is whatever is pure. Purity speaks of integrity and innocence. God can make a sinner these things. That’s part of the point to “think on these things”, to remain pure. There are some songs that I can’t listen to because they remind me of my old days in sin. I have to change the channel. Next are whatever is lovely and commendable. Who can argue with those.
Before Christ we were in a difficult place. Here’s what Isaiah 64:6 says, “Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.” But He washes us clean when we come to Him.
John 13:10 shares an interesting insight, ‘Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”‘ We have been redeemed and are made white as snow in God’s eyes. However as we walk through this world we get soiled by it.
I John 1:9 tells us what to do when we sin, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He cleans up our soiled feet.
As we think on these things we stay out of trouble. Thank You Lord for this.