Thinking of Whatever

whatever is true…honorable…just…pure…lovely…commendable,
if there is any excellence…anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8

Where does your mind go? In what fields does it wander? (Take a moment and ponder that. What occupies your thinking?) For many of us, a large portion of our thinking life is directed toward responsibilities: work, education, teaching children. And so our minds and thinking revolve around those (very good) responsibilities. But what about for the rest of our time, and for those who do not have such daily, mental responsibilities? Do you grab snatches of time to criticize another? Do you spend time lavishly on disassociating from life? Do you allow yourself to be pushed and pulled by the day’s events, giving agency of your mind over to the pressures or events of the day? These experiences make sense–there are understandable reasons why we might think these ways–and yet we should ask “how are such ways of thinking shaping us into the image of Jesus; to be like him in all things?”

As we are considering where our minds wander–or where we let them loose to roam–what about fields of joy? Do you lead your mind to that field, which may be found alongside the fields of beauty and goodness? This may often be harder to do. We have to work toward that field, as if it were an alpine field or meadow. There is goodness to be found there, but there is work involved in getting there. It is far easier to walk, maybe even just roll, down the mountainside to the marshy fields below. Little effort is required here.

I find St. Paul’s words, which he wrote to Christians in the city Philippi, helpful. Writing while in prison, he instructs them in their thinking. “Whatever is true…honorable…just…pure…lovely…commendable, if there is any excellence…anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” What he does not say is just as important as what he does say. He does not say if there is anything true, honorable, just, etc. let those things come to mind. That would be a passive approach. It would be akin to closing our eyes and then, on opening them, we somehow find ourselves in the field of joy. Not sure how we got here, but here we are. Rather, he takes an active approach in his instruction: “think about these things.” It is work; it requires effort; and for some of us, this is far harder than others for our minds are assailed by so many things. And Jesus knows this. But we can start where we are. We can put one foot in front of the other and as we do so, at some point we will realize that we have journeyed a distance. We will also find that we do not make this journey alone. We are aided and led by the Comforter of Christ, the Spirit of God.

Putting hand to the plow. As you read this, what if you were to take the next seven days–you need not stop there–and daily consider where you might see God’s presence in your day, however slight or slim it might appear? (It may be that we do not see God in our day-to-day lives because we are not looking for him.) Also, take a few moments, maybe at the end of the day, and review the past 24hrs with gratitude, naming those things, however slight or however magnanimous, for which you are grateful.

Taking our minds by the hand, aided and guided by the Holy Spirit, we may begin (or continue) to train them in the way of Jesus.

Grace & Peace