Philippians 4:8
ESV
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Imagine this scenario. You’re at a mandatory meeting for your church, job, or group. You get up on time and the sun is shining. You get out the door on time with coffee in hand (or stop at your favorite coffee shop) and get to the meeting on time. You smile because you are feeling good and are ready for a good day. You’re looking forward to the free goodies provided and you know the meeting will only last for a few hours. A colleague sits next to you. Wanting to be friendly, you ask, how are you? The person goes into a series of complaints including how they dislike most of the people at the event and have better things to do with their morning. Trying to be positive you point out that it’s a short meeting and there are free goodies. The person launches into more complaints about their busy schedule and specific eating habits.
What happens to your mood? Ever feel this way?
Call
I recently thought of purpose in terms of how God has called me to act. Part of my purpose in both my writing and my attitude is to be an example of Christ to others. This verse in Philippians tells us to control our minds. We are to think on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and things worthy of praise. This is not necessarily easy to do because of all the negativity in the world. But this verse commands us to train our minds to do it. It doesn’t say “maybe think” or “if you want to think,” it says if there are good things to think about then we think about them, period. If nothing else we can think about the fact that the Lord Jesus died so we can be saved.
But there are so many things to be thankful for.
Gifts
Years ago I finished the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. She challenged me to make a list of 1,000 things I was thankful for. By the time I finished the book, it had changed my life. It taught me to focus on the countless things that were blessings in life versus the things I struggled with. In fact, the more I focused on the blessings, the more I could fulfill Philippians 4:8.
“Christian hands never clasp
and He doesn't give gifts for gain
because a gift can never stop being a gift -
it is always meant to be given.” ― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
Challenge
Check yourself. Where are your thoughts? Are they on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and things worthy of praise? If not, I challenge you to start a journal and keep track of things you are thankful for. If you write down 3 things a day for every day of the year you will make it to 1,000.
Change
One year of doing this could possibly change your perspective and subsequently change your life. Which person do you want to be?
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