NOT ONLY “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?”, BUT “WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?”
BIBLE PASSAGE:
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.
(Philippians 4:8)
MEDITATION:
Have you ever had this thought,
“I am a Christian, but I am not experiencing
the joy I expected to have as a believer”?
We can be our own worst enemy, can’t we? God wants us to have joy
in our lives, but we fill our minds with all the wrong things and they
cause us to miss out on the joy we should be experiencing. The Lord
gave us the capability of thinking and reasoning, but when our minds
are ‘bent’ in the wrong direction, we will miss out on His best for us.
When Jesus read the hearts of the teachers of the law
he challenged them to ‘think about what they were thinking’.
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there,
thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk
like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins
but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit
that this was what they were thinking in their hearts,
and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?
(Mark 2:6-8)
Paul told the Ephesians that wrong thoughts would
cause futility and frustrations, instead of joy and peace.
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord,
that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their thinking.
(Ephesians 4:17)
Paul tells us that when we are saved, we should change our thoughts.
Why? Because we have developed a new way of looking at ourselves
though the eyes of God, and that should cause us to have a new humility
which should result in a loss of our conceit and egotism.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,
but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in
accordance with the faith God has distributed to each
of you.
(Romans 12:3)
Brothers and sisters, we need to think of what we
were when we were called. Not many of you were
wise by human standards; not many were influential;
not many were of noble birth.
(1 Corinthians 1:26)
If anyone thinks they are something
when they are not, they deceive themselves.
(Galatians 6:3)
When we are saved, our sinful thoughts of self-gratification, are replaced
with a desire to receive our fulfillment from the Lord (which is far better).
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,
and do not think about how to gratify the desires of
the flesh.
(Romans 13:14)
Paul tells us that we can easily deceive ourselves about right and wrong,
if we adopt the standards of the world. He tells to “dumb down” on worldly
standards, and “wise up” to God’s standards.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are
wise by the standards of this age, you should become
“fools” so that you may become wise.
(1 Corinthians 3:18)
He also tells us that misused knowledge can cloud our thoughts.
We can become so enamored with our own intelligence that we
lose our love for God (and become unknown by Him).
Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that
“We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs
up while love builds up. Those who think they know
something do not yet know as they ought to know.
But whoever loves God is known by God.
(1 Corinthians 8:1-3)
We are told in God’s Word that we need to develop a Christian habit
of ‘thinking maturely’. We are also told to be ‘infants’ in regard to evil.
What does that mean? Infants look at evil as something bad, so they
don’t ‘play with it’, ‘rationalize it’, or ‘justify it’, they just stay away
from it, period.
Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children.
In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking
be adults.
(1 Corinthians 14:20)
The Bible never encourages anyone to behave wickedly. Instead,
it urges Christians to encourage even little children to trust Christ.
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to
them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such
as these.
(Mark 10:14)
Experiencing evil things does not make anyone a better Christian;
only the goodness of God can transform us into righteous people.
Paul told the Christians in Corinth they should
“be like babies in their lack of experience of evil things”.
They should have a simple attitude toward anything evil:
“evil things are wrong, and people should avoid them”.
At the same time, Paul urged Christians to think in a mature manner.
He stated that he did not consider the Christians in Corinth to be
mature Christians yet, because they were still living like people who
had not received salvation from the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who
live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere
infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you
were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You
are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling
among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like
mere humans?
(1 Corinthians 3:1-3)
They cared too much about their own thoughts and desires, and
the result of their thinking, caused constant arguments between
them. When they became mature, they would care about other
people because they would have a new attitude of love would
guide them in everything they do, think, and say.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he says that whenever our thoughts
cause us to question God’s Word, we are developing unhealthy
thoughts which will create all kinds of problems and distort our
ideas regarding godliness and righteousness.
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the
sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly
teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing.
They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and
quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious
talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people
of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and
who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But
godliness with contentment is great gain.
(1 Timothy 6:3-6)
We are told that we can focus so much on the faults of others,
that we ignore our own faults (which are often the same faults
we are criticizing in others).
So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment
on them and yet do the same things, do you think
you will escape God’s judgment?
(Roman 2:3)
James tells us that our wrong thinking can be like a banana
peel that causes us to slip deeper into sin. Instead of shutting
down tempting thoughts when they arise, we can make the
mistake of embracing them, and that leads to more thoughts
about additional types of sinfulness.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.”
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt
anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged
away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
gives birth to death.
(James 1:13-15)
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul says that Christians should
live a life that reflects the salvation they received as a gift of grace
from God. In order to do that, we must develop new thought patterns.
All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view
of things. And if on some point you think differently, that
too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what
we have already attained.
(Philippians 3:15-16)
So how do we change our thoughts?
We learn to focus on the things mentioned in Philippians 4:8?
“whatever is true” (authentic; real; enduring)
– Don’t lie to, or mislead others.
– Let others see the real person we are (be transparent).
“whatever is noble” (worthy of reverence)
– Don’t have cheap and unworthy thoughts.
“whatever is right” (fair and equitable)
– Don’t let our emotions or feelings cause
us to favor things that are not righteous.
“whatever is pure” (clean and unstained)
– Have moral and righteous thoughts
that are approved and accepted by God.
“whatever is lovely” (pleasing; attractive; uplifting)
– Think thoughts that reflect Christian love.
– Don’t look for faults in others, and don’t be guilty of gossiping.
– Look for ways to brighten the lives of others,
instead of trying to tear down their self-esteem.
“whatever is admirable” (gracious; of good report)
– Live a life that is deserving of respect and approval.
“anything is excellent or praiseworthy”
– Replace poor and offensive thinking with
thoughts that are excellent and praiseworthy.
Note:
If we say we love someone, we won’t
spend time trying to point out their faults.
These kind of thoughts will guide us toward saying the right things,
lifting up others, and living a life that will cause others to respect us
for who we are (and hopefully for our visible and obvious love of God).
Paul groups all our thoughts into two categories:
1. Things of excellence.
2. Things that are praiseworthy.
Paul connects ‘thinking worthy thoughts’ with ‘living as a Christian should’.
He says the things we do and say, should be a reflection of our attitudes
and convictions. Others should know that we have righteous and Godly
thoughts when they observe the lifestyle we are living.
ACTION:
Have you been missing out on the joy of your salvation? Is it
because you have allowed your mind to be filled with unhealthy
and unrighteous thoughts? You don’t have to remain that way,
you too can ‘enjoy’ living your life as a Christian.
However, it will not happen if you do nothing. It will require an
effort on your part to change your thinking. In our own strength,
changing our thoughts would require a monumental effort, but
the Lord sent us His Holy Spirit to assist us where we are weak.
Invite the Holy Spirit to be a part of your everyday life, and
create a Godly environment where He can flourish and have
an influence your thinking.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I feel that I am missing out on Your best for
me. My desire is to experience the joy of Your gift of salvation.
You know my thoughts and so You know when they are focused
on unrighteousness. Help me to change my thought processes so
that I can fill my mind with righteous thoughts which please You.
Teach me to think of others and how I can encourage and lift their
spirits. Forgive me for the times I have spent trying to find fault in
others. Remind me that I am no better than anyone else and yet You
accept me in spite of my faults. As a starting point, help me to focus
on encouraging those whom I know are actively trying to serve You.”
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