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.

(Philippians 4:8)



So far in our study of Philippians 4:1-9, we have learned that we must develop the virtues of peace, joy,

humility, faith, and gratitude in order to become spiritually strong and stable. Our growth in these

attitudes depends on being led by the Spirit of God and focusing on these godly virtues. You cannot

experience godly virtues unless you focus on them.

The Bible’s emphasis on godly thinking goes counter to the secular world’s focus on remembering and

analyzing one’s past sins, old hurts, abuses, mistreatments, and chaos of the past. The Christian focus is

away from those things of which it is shameful to speak, for they are the things of the darkness.

So, if we want to be spiritually stable, we need to learn how to think about the right things. This is not a

suggestion, but a command to the Christian. It means to meditate and ponder on these virtues. This calls

for us to consider the implications of adopting these godly attitudes for our own lives. By doing so, we

will develop a habit of dwelling on what is right and good.

The battle today is that our contemporary culture is much less interested in thinking about what is true

and what is good than it is in how we feel and what seems to work for us. This is essentially a philosophy

of pragmatic existentialism.

Even in the Christian world, it’s sad to say that the issue is not always whether an issue is right or true,

but will it divide or will it offend. What is happening in many churches today is that people are going

there not to think or reason about the truth, but to get a weekly spiritual high, so they can feel that God

is still with them. Consequently, they are spiritually unstable because they live on feeling rather than on

thinking.

Friends, we must not be a victim of our feelings. Our minds are the greatest treasure we have in terms

of the gifts of human life. And for believers, our minds work together with the Holy Spirit. Let’s protect

our mind and the way we think by controlling its influences. Avoid those things which negatively

influence your thinking.

So, cultivate the godly virtues of peace, joy, humility, faith, and gratitude. Place your focus on these

virtues and let them dominate your thinking patterns -- resulting in a spiritually stable life.

By Jim Connell

Jim is the founder and retired director of Lexington Rescue Mission and the author of JesusIsLordBlog.com