“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 worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8
This is a well known verse from the Bible. Most of us have heard it and maybe even tried to quote it. It reminds us where are minds should be. It seems so simple, but in reality, it is really hard. Keeping our minds on the things above, rather than the things of this world, is an ongoing battle. We can’t lose hope, though. We have a Savior that loves us and desires to be with us in heaven.
It is easy to look at the negative side of situations. We got cut off while driving, my alarm didn’t go off, my kids won’t stop crying, etc. Bad, bad, bad, worse, worse, worse. It’s a matter of perspective. It’s a matter of making sure our minds are on the right things.
This is especially true in ministry – your attitude is sometimes all the kids will remember!
Let’s try an experiment. We are going to do a scavenger hunt. We are looking for things in our lives that fit into one or more of the following categories:
- true
- honorable
- right
- pure
- lovely
- good repute
- any excellence
- worthy of praise
When you get cut off while driving, pray for that person. Thank God that you weren’t hurt – that’s worthy of praise. When your alarm doesn’t go off, thank the Lord that you got a few extra minutes of sleep – that’s true. When your kids won’t stop crying, cuddle with them on the couch with a cup of coffee – that’s right.
So, choose a day to start the experiment (today would be best). Throughout your day, try to fit everything that happens to you into one of the above categories. See how your day goes. I bet you will have one of the best days!
Keeping our minds on these things helps to keep our minds right.