“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 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
There’s no other way to say it: This world is full of ugliness. Wickedness is not only tolerated, it is celebrated. It’s very easy to let ourselves get depressed about this state of affairs in our world, but according to this verse, we can’t dwell on it. Do we simply ignore the sin or block it out? No, we can’t. We would be foolish to do so. But it is important to not let Satan get a foothold in our minds by dwelling on all the icky-ness. Doing so can make us bitter and hateful, or worse: it can drag us down to do the very sin we once hated. Sometimes being exposed to something a lot, even in our own thoughts, can make us get used to an idea until it no longer seems wrong. We as humans are, unfortunately, all vulnerable to this, no matter how “naturally good” we are. But praise God that He is our protection! Praise God that, as long as we are willing to put sin away from us, He will help us to stay convicted about sin and not want to do it, whatever it may be. God loves us, and He is completely unwilling that we should ever sin again, but He will never force us to be holy. We have to want Him to make us holy. (Yes, I use the term holy, because that is what we should be. I’m not talking about “halos around our heads” holy, but about being righteous. Unwilling to sin, and unwilling to compromise even a little bit, although we all have to admit we fail in both those areas far too often.)
Merely thinking positively or only thinking about “beautiful things” isn’t enough. I believe what this verse is saying is that we should be thinking on Jesus. Who or what else is as true as God? Who or what else is as honest, or just? Who or what else is as pure and lovely? Who or what else is as virtuous and praiseworthy? What better report is there than that Jesus loves you and is coming back soon, first to take His children (the born-again Christians) to heaven, and then to rule and reign on this earth? I can’t think of anything that is more wonderful, and I long for the day when He comes!
I’ve been struggling in this area myself for awhile (of thinking on good things, mainly because it seems like I’ve been seeing so much evil around lately), but I felt that the Lord was really convicting me to stop dwelling on it and start focusing on Him. I can’t do anything about the evil. He can. I should trust in Him. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
