“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:8-9 CSB

I’ve always heard that what goes into your mind comes out in your words and actions. After all my years on this earth, I’d say there is some truth in that. We are greatly affected by the words and actions of those around us. And not just our family and friends but song lyrics, movie portrayals, books, magazines and social media all play a role in the thoughts on which we allow ourselves to dwell. While our day may look vastly different from life in the first century, it is still words and actions that are major influencers in our lives.

Paul calls for the family of faith to be mindful of things on which they dwell. Is it true? We live in a world where stories are labeled fake and where reality tv is not exactly all that meets the eye. And these are the things we are inundated with on a daily basis. We must stop and ask ourselves, is it true? Not does it seem true or could it possibly be true. Is it? There must be definitive evidence or else it should not get past the guard.

Back in verse 7, Paul states that the peace of God would guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That peace is our guard. It stands with a military type presence that does not allow just anything to come into our minds and hearts. We have to call off the guard. Therefore, we must be vigilant when it comes to our thought life. While peace is our guard, that does not that we are off the hook. We have to ask ourselves the questions mentioned above. When gossip makes its way to our ears, is it true, it is honorable, is it praiseworthy? If we cannot answer yes to these things we need to turn it away. Those song lyrics, are they pure, honorable, of moral excellence? If no is our answer, we must turn away. Those images on the device, are they commendable, lovely, pure? The process is the same. Temptation begins in the mind and then moves to action.

Paul encourages the believers to put what they have learned, received, heard and seen into action. Do. We put into action the things that makes the greatest impact. Temptation becomes action when we dwell on it in our minds. Yet we are slow to allow the very things of God to filter down into the fiber of our being and change us from the inside out. We don’t want to turn from the things that have appeared lovely but have cost us more than we wanted to pay. We have to be intentional about who and what influences us daily.

Questions for Reflection

• What are you doing with the things you are learning, hearing, seeing and receiving from other believers?
• Who or what are you allowing to influence you daily?
• Where have you let your guard down? What action do you need to take to reestablish a right relationship with Christ?

Father, forgive me for when I have acted on temptation and allowed myself to sin. Renew my mind and help me to dwell on the things that are lovely, pure, admirable, just and true. Amen.