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.
Philippians 4:8
At first glance that list may sound rather limiting, but if we ponder it, we’ll find that it’s much broader than we first thought. How do we make it happen? First, Paul was writing to fellow Christians, so belief in and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ is foundational. Second, we’ve got to be careful about what enters our minds through our eyes and our ears, and that, my friends, can be very difficult in this modern world we find ourselves living in. Thankfully, it’s not impossible, because of the gospel, but it can be difficult. Is there a practical benefit? In the verses just before and after this one, Paul was writing about peace with God, and I’m convinced that until we bring our thinking in line with this verse, we won’t have the peace with God that we could have.
More:
Romans 12:1-2
Proverbs 9:10
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Image credit: Wikipedia article “The Thinker”
I love this verse. At RBC my favorite Professor Dr Shell had a whole class on these verses. I have ‘used it’ (bad choice of words) ‘practically’ my entire 24 years so far in my Christian life as my “TV Guide, and Book selection guide” and as a reminder for my “eyes” while on the Internet. In Church I am always reminded, thankfully, that the most lovely thing is our Lord Jesus Himself above everything else. For theology, the “whatever is true” part has been my driving passion. Thanks for an excellent post.