“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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
While there were no major doctrinal issues as with the Galatians or Romans letter, this letter from Paul to the Philippians is chocked full of theological content. Here Paul writes about some of the true aspects of being a follower of Christ. With the world breathing down our necks daily tempting us to think, say and do that which is unsavory and displeasing to the Lord, we are told by Paul what is worth thinking about. Whatever we think comes out of our hearts. What we pour into our minds heavily influences our motivation and our thought process. Our thoughts have a direct line to our mouth and definitely influence what we do. So Paul is saying to spend our time thinking about those things that are not necessarily of this world; words like true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy represent that which we should place our mental focus on. As we strive to be more like Christ each day it behooves us to follow Paul’s recommendation.
While there were no major doctrinal issues as with the Galatians or Romans letter, this letter from Paul to the Philippians is chocked full of theological content. Here Paul writes about some of the true aspects of being a follower of Christ. With the world breathing down our necks daily tempting us to think, say and do that which is unsavory and displeasing to the Lord, we are told by Paul what is worth thinking about. Whatever we think comes out of our hearts. What we pour into our minds heavily influences our motivation and our thought process. Our thoughts have a direct line to our mouth and definitely influence what we do. So Paul is saying to spend our time thinking about those things that are not necessarily of this world; words like true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy represent that which we should place our mental focus on. As we strive to be more like Christ each day it behooves us to follow Paul’s recommendation.
In addition to the instructions he gives regarding our thought processes, Paul also points out to his readers that they should put into practice all the teachings that he has laid before them. Note that he mentions among these things whatever they had ‘seen in me’. As the old adage goes, ‘sometimes our lives are the only Bible people will ever read’. What do people see in us? As Christians we need to present Christ in a favorable light always. Sure, we will have bad days and slip up from time to time, but that should not be the norm. Our striving should be to truly represent Christ the best way we can. It can be difficult at times and we will have days when all we want to do is crawl into a hole and hide. God doesn’t expect us to be flawless in the way we live; however, I believe He does expect us to at least make the effort. Striving for perfection even though we know we can never achieve it is our noble task as believers. Don’t stress over it. Simply give yourself to God and allow His Holy Spirit to do internal spirit surgery on your heart. God knows all you can be in Him and as you work towards that end His peace will be with you.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
NOTE: “The letter is addressed ‘to all the saints . . . at Philippi.’ Philippi was the site of the first Christian mission in Europe. It resulted from Paul's response to ‘the Macedonian call’ (Acts 16). The city, named after Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, was located eight miles north of Neapolis, the port city. Philippi became a Roman colony in 42 BC. It was a strategic city for the launching of Western Christianity.” [Asbury Bible Commentary]
