26) Strength in Suffering Series
Paul is living in a dark time, an uncertain time. It was a time when Christians were suffering for their belief in God. They suffered for their enthusiasm and efforts to bring peace to the hearts of all who would listen and obey their Creator. Sound familiar? Our time isn’t that different. The Philippian Christians gave up worldly peace for heavenly peace. Christian sister, how can you show your peace to an unbeliever if you aren’t exercising that heavenly peace through the trials of this life? You display genuine, obvious peace to others when you face circumstances that would cause them to quake in fear and lose hope. You suffer to teach others peace. Philippians 4:8 resonates for the Christian sister who is struggling to find light in dark places.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8
One of the hardest things about suffering is not knowing why. We want to know the reason for what’s happening, and we often want someone to blame. We end up blaming and beating up ourselves and anyone else! While this is human nature, the blame game never fixes the problem. The problem is “I don’t know why this is happening.” The answer is, “God knows why this is happening.” Maybe you’ll get more specific answers later, but, regardless of the answer, the problem needs to be handled by leaning on God to give you peace. Heavenly peace is not found in the news of worldly unrest. You no longer have to rely on false information, dishonor, injustice, corruption, ugliness, or hearsay to steer your life and thinking. Leaning looks like this:
“I think about true things.”
True things are the standards you know are never going to change. And since this world is filled with lies, the Christian is not depending on what the world says to form good judgments. Instead, she holds to the One who never changes. Jehovah is her rock. She relies on His commands and principles; they do not change.
Truth is hard to accept. That’s why so many reject it. Truth is hard to take. It hurts, and it changes you. Seeking truth is hard work. Most refuse to put that much effort into finding it. Paul points out here that there is a reward for seeking the truth. Thinking on the honest things, the truthful things, brings the Christian into a better state of mind. She gains by chasing after truth, reflecting on it, and keeping herself established in truth. She strengthens her relationship with God and ceases to rely on the instability of the world.
Many of the trials Christians face involve some type of betrayal in a relationship. Even the most solid of commitments can falter. This is part of living in the world. When the person you trusted the most deceives you or breaks your trust, it is natural to begin to distrust your other relationships. That is when the greatest need for truth surfaces, and it is important to return to God. Go to Him for solace, and He will give you strength. Listen to His truth and talk to Him about your fears and doubts. He is always faithful.
What do true things have in common? First, they are honorable. The word “honorable” is also translated “honest.” The original word comes from the word for worship and reverence. It’s no coincidence that our world takes concepts, like “good” and “love,” and changes them to hardly mean anything at all. Conversely, the world breaks down our sense of what is honorable and dishonorable. Words like “sinful” and “wicked” are terms that should be treated with gravity. Is the chocolate cake “sinful” or “decadent?” Is that event “wicked” fun? We often find ourselves losing sight of the depth of regard we have for what deserves our quiet, devoted respect. We’ve grown accustomed to the world’s vocabulary so that it seems silly to pick at these common terms. But what happens when we place boundaries on what we will and will not think on in the way the world thinks on them? A niggling fear takes hold that we will be perceived as prude, humorless, nitpicking. The devil wants you to play along, and he will overwhelm you with the little things. Don’t let society tell you to think less of the things God tells you are honorable or dishonorable. Make that delineation so that the Adversary cannot tear down in you what God is building up to help you shine His light in the sin-infested places that want you to minimize and, later, accept their evil.
Another characteristic of true things is found in rightness or justness. The word “just” in the Greek is from a root word meaning judgement in court, and this grants us a picture of a person standing before a judge and facing a sentence. When a guilty person stands before a judge, he does not experience feelings of justness. The person who is innocent does. Thinking on just things is reflecting and acting on what you know is right to do. Picture yourself standing before your God when you are deciding some action to take. What would He say to what you are doing or thinking of doing? I often use this picture in my head when I’m making decisions, especially when I’m feeling guilty about something unnecessarily. For example, I place myself in front of my Judge when my children score badly on a test or when I fall short in some venture. Instead of letting the world decide I’m a bad parent, I stand before my God and consider what He would say. Would He be concerned about a test grade? No. He’s concerned that they are learning His purpose for each of them. Instead of letting the world decide I’m a failure, I stand before my God and consider what He would say to me. Would He tell me I didn’t succeed because that wasn’t the way He wanted me to go? Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I suddenly know what is right. Each time you open His Word, you stand before your Judge. You allow Him to direct your steps. So, seek what He accepts, not what is socially acceptable.
“I think on pure things.”
Purity is different from what is true, but truth and purity go hand in hand. Truth, honor, and justness come from pure intentions. Hagnos is the Greek word for pure, and it is where the name Agnes comes from. The word means to be without contamination, and it is used again by Paul when he writes to Timothy, “Lay hands hastily on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22). This advice to Timothy is especially helpful in the context of Timothy’s purpose to work with the church in Ephesus. Our Father knows a Christian can’t always see the intentions of others. Paul warns Timothy to get to know the members there before he “lays hands” or sets up leaders to help the congregation. Timothy was to keep himself pure when appointing men to help in the Church’s work and not to get involved in the sins of men who might twist the work of God. This seems simple, but it’s very difficult to ferret out what’s really happening in a congregation when people want to hide their intentions. Deciding to think on pure things is the way to be transparent before God. You no longer need to hide your intentions—from others or from yourself.
Paul breaks down the traits of purity by adding two more descriptive terms that reveal someone’s purity: what is lovely and what is of good report. The word “lovely” means acceptable and pleasing. Something that is lovely is strongly attractive and appealing. The world wants to persuade us about what is strongly attractive, and its attempt at loveliness is a foul replacement for God’s meaning for loveliness. God’s loveliness is immediately pleasing. It exudes cleanness and goodness. The beauty of it lasts within the memory. Good report is related to pureness in that pureness is spread and communicated to others. Unlike a lie, pureness spreads good feeling and creates peace. These descriptive words—truth, honor, justness, purity, loveliness, and of good reputation—all resound with peace, godly peace, while the opposite of each of these traits creates unrest in the heart.
After this list of peace-making traits, Paul draws a circle around these descriptions with two more peaceful-living traits. He writes, “if there be any virtue, if there be any praise…” Virtue is the decision to do what is right. The word also depicts one as choosing the most excellent course. Choosing what is best requires one to study something and discern where it will lead her. It is right thinking to weigh your course and to consider the actions of those around you. What will be the consequences? It is right thinking to choose the option that will bring you closest to your Heavenly Father. It is right thinking to give the kindest response or reaction because you want the consequence to be the best for others. You want your Christian siblings to grow in Him. You want those who do not know God to know that your consideration of them comes from thoughtful reflection in God’s peace. Along with looking for the virtuous things in their lives, Paul also tells the Philippians Christians to look for what is praiseworthy. One’s role is not to be recognized for being a great Christian, or applauded for being active in the Church, or to receive rewards; instead, our role is to look for the praiseworthy things in life and, by implication, give praise for them. Praise the Creator for the good things He’s created! Praise Him for what is true, pure, and excellent in your life. Praise your fellow Christians for what is true, pure, and excellent in their lives. Through this praise, they, too, will focus on deeds and words that are peace-making.
The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Philippians 4:9
Paul is an example to them of what a peace-thinker focuses on. He says they learned from him, they received from him, they heard him, and they saw him thinking on true, honorable, and just things. He taught them to think on lovely things, and he spoke his thoughts of excellence and right doing to them. They listened to his thoughts of praise, and they saw his actions of good report. Like Paul, we can enjoy peace by teaching truth. When we act honorably and react justly, we spread the truth. When we talk of what is lovely by God’s definition and what is of good report, we provide pureness and cleanness to those around us. And, finally, we share God’s peace by virtuous living and through giving praise for what is praiseworthy.
Paul makes them a great promise here. He says that developing these peace-thinking skills will result in the God of peace being with them. This is what we want in this life; we want the God of peace to be with us.
Paul’s next words will lead us into fruit-bearing.