“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8-9).
Have you ever tried to put this passage of scripture into practice? Have you ever tried to intentionally change your thoughts so that you think of these things, only to fail and have other thoughts come to mind? There’s an important reason for this. Paul is not just telling us to think about these things in general. The use of Paul’s language here is telling us to go deeper than to just think. We must dwell.
Look at Paul’s wording. Five times Paul uses the word, “Whatever.” It would have been easy for Paul to say it once then list the things he was encouraging. “Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable…etc.” But he didn’t do that. He listed each one as important. He wasn’t us to dwell on these things. And make no mistake. As human and as fallen as we are, dwelling on something positive can take some work. It’s our nature to dwell on the negative or the sinful. But dwelling on things that please God takes intentional, purposeful, hard work. Are you up for the challenge? You can start by memorizing this important passage.
Memory Verse
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8-9).
Application
Dwell. Take a few minutes, right now, to dwell through this list. For instance, for something true, take time to think about what you’ve learned today, or what a pastor or teacher shared. Think through it’s implications. Then move on to each thing in Paul’s list. Go through the list and watch how your thought life begins to change.