Think About These Things

             Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy.

As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp.

With my typical thought process of “Do…”, “Next!” and, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are, now!” alternating with silence that echoes in the empty cavern that is my mind when it’s not filled with trash (and a few treasures mixed in to keep it interesting), I need to learn to take time to smell the roses before I harvest them, or to enjoy the moon as it rises over the hills south of town. In fact, that is part of the reason I carry a camera because even though I may find nothing to photograph, it tends to shift my attention to what is around me. It increases the likelihood that I will see something true, noble, right, pure, lovely, etc.

It’s difficult to will ourselves to see things that fit these categories. It’s easier when we find ways to put ourselves in the circumstances where we might see them.