Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Living a successful Christian life is about far more than obeying a list of rules and requirements. It takes transformation at the deepest level (2 Corinthians 5:17) as well as a complete renewing of one’s mind by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1-2).
But even after one is transformed and given a new mind, a person must still live in a world where bad news and scary headlines are endemic , where it is very easy to focus on the nasty things, and lose entirely our focus on the things that matter most. And it was that way even in first-century Philippi.
Paul solution is simple and elegant. As human beings, created in God’s image, we have the God-given ability to choose. Not just free will to choose our actions and whether we will obey or disobey God, but the ability to choose what we think about during the day. And Paul’s recommendation to the Philippians is to choose well.
Instead of focusing on things that drag our hearts and minds downward, like celebrity gossip or the latest political scandals, we can choose to focus on what is noble, right, and pure. Instead of getting mired in opinions and talk shows, we can choose to focus on what is lovely and admirable. Instead of allowing social media to focus our minds on what is wrong in the world, we can choose to focus on the things that are excellent and praiseworthy.
Some may complain that nothing in our world today is good or praiseworthy. But that kind of thinking is lazy and more simple-minded than most people are capable of. It takes effort to find the good things, to be sure, but they are there.
Mostly what is required to find them is simply turning off the noise, unplugging from the inputs that are intent on feeding garbage and darkness into our lives, and looking for the things that are good. It is much like walking in the woods. If we have our earbuds in and our tunes blaring from our phone, that’s all that we will hear. But if we simply turn off the music, take out the ear buds, and sit and listen on purpose, it won’t be long before we begin to hear a myriad of miraculous sounds of birdsong, and wind, an rustling of leaves all around us.
Lord, I am afraid that this is a trap I am all too prone to fall into. Like most people today, it is hard for me to unplug, to disconnect, to refocus, to look and listen on purpose for the good things that you have placed all around me if I will simply make the effort to look for them. But in the times that I do pause and look, these treasures slowly present themselves to all my senses. Lord, help me to be more purposeful about turning away from the dark and discouraging things that are far too common in the world around me, and to intentionally focus on the things that are quietly there, ready to edify an encourage me if I will simply make the effort to refocus. Amen.