Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report (2)

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” Philippians 4:8 (The Message).

Today this text was shared on my church WhatsApp page and people were encouraged. It also got me thinking about what I wrote six months ago (see here). When I shared it was by way of an antidote to the dark happenings in today’s world that I was keen to expose and see overturned, but there is another angle (there often is) to consider. According to the Book of Common Prayer and based on what the Bible teaches, we are up against the formidable foes of the world, the flesh and the devil often it seems acting in unison to turn us away from God. Instead of thinking about what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report, these entities seek to entice us to do the very opposite with the net result we turn away from God and influence others to do the same, and we are all the worse for it. While we mustn’t be ostriches that bury their head in the sand when it comes to recognizing, exposing and confronting evil, may we have the character, courage and discipline to make thinking on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report our regular habit.