Think On These Things

⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ 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 (Phil. 4:5-8).

It's a wonderful little passage full of excellent advice. "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone." Think about that when you blog. "Do not be anxious about anything." Excellent advice. Take it to the Lord in prayer. I mean, why wouldn't we? Who doesn't want to experience "the peace of God which surpasses all understanding"? Bring it on!

The problem, of course, is that it isn't advice. These are commands. The first few are difficult to follow at times, but when we get to verse 8, it's easy to wonder if the command is even reasonable. "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." Think about the articles and posts and books you've read lately. Okay, limit them to just the Christian ones. (Make sure you include your own.) How many were focused on that which is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise? I ask because it seems real easy for us to focus on that which is not true. It is easy for us to complain about injustice. It is easy to point out those who are worthy of censure rather than commendation. Failures rather than excellence tend to be our focus. And offering praise ... no, not on our list of top things to write or talk about.

I've given some thought to this. It's not like I'm pointing fingers at all of you out there. I'm thinking about myself here. (Those who are equally guilty will have to do their own introspection.) How would what I write change if I followed Paul's command here? I'm not entirely sure. In the month of July, for instance, I wrote four pieces on hymnody. That would be okay, wouldn't it? I wrote a humorous (Okay, I thought it was humorous) entry about banning water. I suppose humor could stay ... as long as it's not unkind ... couldn't it? I wrote about controversial secular questions like discrimination in the workplace, the theology of Islam, whether or not men are being obsoleted, and the problem of a kid-controlled culture. Could I keep those? Do they fall in the categories listed? I wrote about some Christian controversy as well, such as infant baptism, the difference between Christianity and other religions, predestination, what makes a Christian, and whether or not the Bible is as clear as it should be. How many of those should I have eliminated based on that list from Paul?

I really want to be an obedient follower of Christ ("Christian"). It's just that sometimes it's hard to tell on a day-to-day basis what that means. I know that Christ corrected doctrinal error, so it must be okay to correct doctrinal error. Where does that fall in Paul's list? I know that Jesus threw the moneychangers out of the Temple, so it must be okay to respond strongly to those who are opposed to God. Where does that fall in Paul's list? Perhaps what's in view is the origins of my responses. Am I responding to error because I'm thinking about truth, or am I responding to error because I'm analyzing error? Am I correcting those who defy God because I want to correct them, or am I correcting them because I'm so focused on what is true, honorable, just, and pure that they stand out to me? I suspect -- no, I know -- that regardless of the nuances I certainly need to do a lot more focusing on the things that fall in the categories Paul gives than I do. I wonder how that will affect how I think, how I live, and what I write? I wonder if you're willing to ask the same kinds of questions about your life?