Dwell on these things - Feb. 24-28
Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. - Phillipians 4:8
What fantastic advice we’re given here by the Apostle Paul, let’s not miss the depth of the truth found here in this verse. It can be tempting to just casually read past it and say to ourselves “oh yeah, think happy thoughts”, but what Paul is saying here is much more than just thinking happy thoughts.
I like the word choice here in the CSB translation, because to dwell conveys some longevity. We’re not to just have passing thoughts about what is true and pure etc., we are to spend time processing, to linger on thinking about these excellent things. It’s worth noting here that dwelling on these excellent things doesn’t necessarily make for happy thoughts. Thinking about justice for example can be especially sobering, but that doesn’t make it any less good.
This is not an easy thing to do though, to dwell on excellent things. Our media today is constantly bombarding us with the very opposite of these good things, whether it be news about the most recent virus scare, the failures of a political leader, or images of immodestly dressed people.
So how can we do this? How can we be purposeful about our thought life?
Well first off, what or who is true/honorable/just/pure/lovely/commendable/morally excellent/praiseworthy? God is of course, as is His Word; Christians being faithfully obedient to Him will display these attributes as well. This right away gives us a few practical ways to take hold of our thoughts.
Prayer, spending time in prayer with God is a great way to turn our focus to Him.
Word, spending time reading His word fills us with knowledge of Him and His expectations of us.
Fellowship, spending time with other Christians, being encouraged and challenged by each other builds us up in faith.
Let’s all strive to dwell on these excellent things of God. Be blessed!