Have you ever said to yourself, “What was I thinking?” Generally it is after we have not thought something through, and the corresponding action was not well received or the best action to take. I am prone to say it gets worse with age, but that is not necessarily the truth. We all do not “think” at times on the things that will benefit ourselves, our relationships, and especially our relationship with Yahweh.

Our thoughts may be consumed with chores, work, children, a spouse or parents and relatives. Maybe it is a friend that is in trouble or sick that requires a lot of thought time. No matter what the chore or situation is, we are to keep our minds thinking on the things that we are taught from the Scriptures. You are the one that is in control of your thoughts. The thoughts you choose determine your quality of life now and entrance into the Kingdom of God.

Proverbs 4:23. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

The word ‘watching’ has the idea of a keeper taking care of animals. The keeper feeds, tends to, watches out for the animals. We are to do as the keeper does by watching over our heart or thoughts with all diligence (i.e. careful and persistent vigilance). Anyone who has taken care of a toddler knows how vigilant we must be to keep the child safe. The child gets into so many things that we cannot even imagine. So, we must watch carefully and intently to keep the child safe. It is the same way with our thoughts. They can be unruly, mischievous, hurtful, or loving and tender. Which way they turn is up to our determination. Looking at a few verses that are very clear on this subject may help us pay more attention to what is going on in our minds.

The Scriptures teach us in Paul’s letter to the Philippians to think especially about certain things.

Philippians 4:8. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

This conclusion comes as an encouragement to us so that we can remain steadfast in the Lord. So much goes on around us that distracts us from our purpose of loving as Jesus did, serving as he demonstrated, and remaining faithful over the long haul.

Paul begins by using the endearing term of ‘brethren’. He calls us to him to hear what is being said to help us maintain our Christian walk. In this list of eight things to think about, right away we are reminded to have truth. We can wonder what is truth. Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and producer, is widely quoted as saying “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we have.” This is not the “Truth” that Paul is speaking about. My truth and $5.00 may get me a lousy cup of coffee! My truth needs to be the Truth of the Scriptures.

There are several reasons why it is imperative to guard our hearts with the Truth. Our hearts/thought have a significant impact on how we not only relate to Yahweh and Jesus but also impacts our faith. If we listen to the Truth of the Scriptures, we will draw closer to Yahweh and if not focused on Truth, we will find ourselves floating away out to sea in a riptide. Psalm 1:2 tells us that when our delight is in the law of the LORD, and we meditate on that (thinking about it) our lives will be blessed and transformed with peace and contentment.

The next item on Paul’s list is the word honorable. It points to serious purposes, and to self-respect.¹ This word is used in the New Testament four times, Philippians 4:7, 1 Timothy 3:8, 1 Timothy 3:11; Titus 2:2. It appears it is a difficult Greek word to translate and retain the full meaning. Even though it is translated as ‘grave’ in Timothy and Titus there is a distinction that has a sense of dignity and reverence. We are to think about things that have dignity and reverence. What would that be like? Possibly something like, “It is time for me to read Scripture and pray this morning. Oh, I’ll eat my breakfast, have some coffee and have the traffic report on while I am doing that.” This would not be giving dignity and reverence to Yahweh. Instead, I could think like a very great man, Daniel, who fell to the ground when a messenger of Yahweh approached him. He was so weak and overcome with respect and awe that the messenger (angelic being) had to help lift him up to his hands and knees (Daniel 9 and 10). We so many times lose the important aspect of respect and honoring Yahweh with our whole attention and posture.

When he mentions to think about what is right, I remember in my freshman year in college in my Philosophy class we had a discussion on what is right. The discussion was quite heated because each one had the notion their own meaning of ‘right’ was the correct one. Scripture, authored by Yahweh, uses a word that means attention to justice and righteousness. Whose justice and righteousness? For sure not mine or yours, but Yahweh’s. As for the Philosophy class in college, I mentioned that the Bible was Truth and was ridiculed by many. We speak the truth about the Truth because it is right to do.

Along with thinking about justice, we are to be free from sin, innocent and pure in our thinking. Wow that is a big one. Our thoughts are to be innocent, free from sinful thinking, and pure. Attainable most assuredly not by ourselves, but with the help of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can do this. We will not be perfect most likely, but we can work at it. It is right to praise what is rightly done. There is moral beauty in being able to be gracious to others, bringing love and care to others, even in our daily thoughts. Loving Yahweh and Jesus means we desire to model in our own lives how Jesus lived. Our thinking is the drawing board that will determine our direction, good or bad.

The Greek word for lovely, prosphilēs, is used only here in the New Testament, meaning pleasing or agreeable. Think about pleasing things, those that are agreeable and without strife no matter what situation we are in. It does not mean we are to be one who blindly goes about being hyper about everything; being good and pleasant. Bad things happen but we can address them with love, kindness, and wisdom from Yahweh. The question is always, “What do I choose to think?”

Some more generalized statements such as good repute, moral excellence, and praiseworthy things are mentioned so that we are to think or meditate upon them. It is not just a quick minute thinking; it is consistent and pervasive thinking. “Dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8) has the sense of to consider or regard something. An example would be thinking carefully about where one wants to move or to change jobs; or possibly forgiving someone who did harm to you instead of how to get even. We love to be around those who think on lovely things. Instead of discussion about the horrors of the world, we seem to be drawn into their understanding of a lovely world, despite the evil, because Yahweh and Jesus are in our lives.

We choose our thoughts. No one chooses them for us. I can think what I want to. I can stand in front of you and smile and in my mind say how rude you are. Or, I can think while chatting with you about how much Yahweh loves you and how can I bless you. I can think about the nightly news and its troubles, or I can watch the news and pray for people to be healed and blessed. It is up to each of us to choose to live in the goodness of what Yahweh has for us to think about.

Paul loved the Philippians. They were those that he had taught the Gospel, and they had received it with great gusto. Unfortunately, they were humans like us all. We are saddled with the old man nature of sin and sinful thinking. Paul gives them the answer to this problem. Do not think about evil, think about good. Think about thankfulness, kind acts, morality, all from the Truth of God’s Word. We can do this…one thought at a time. Keep watch!

What would you like to replace of your thoughts so that they would be more in line with Philippians 4:8? Select just one or two and focus on those, then add more as you become proficient in the first two.

1. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/philippians/4.htm[↩]