Finally brothers, 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.
I have been meditating on this passage all week, and it is hard. The truth is that I don't have enough time or money. The truth is that we have elections coming up and no candidate that I want to vote for. The truth is that our economic and political future doesn't look good at all.
But truth is only part of this passage. Look at the rest of the list of "thought qualities". Noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy. Oh. While my problems may be real and true, they are definitely not all those other things. And as I payed attention to life this week, I had to admit that our culture is not conducive to anything on that list either. Books, TV, movies, music - very little of what we fill our minds with on a regular basis could be described with the words of this scripture.
There is only one source for anything that can be described with this list of words, and that is God. Only things that come from God are true, noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. God, His Word, His church, His people. That's what I need to focus my thoughts and my life on.
Oh yeah, and why do I want to do this (aside from just following God's command)? Read the whole passage:
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally brothers, 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. Whatever you have learned from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Peace. Think about things that fit this description, and you will have God and peace, something I know I need and want more of.
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