I never read The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, but it seems like he may have based his ideas on today’s verse. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi. In this section he is trying to teach them how to have peace and unity. All the qualities he lists here are very positive: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, praiseworthy… But he doesn’t just say to think about things that have these characteristics. He says to dwell on them. When I dwell somewhere, I may not be there 100% of the time, but I return there again and again. I may have to go away for a time for a specific reason, but I return as soon as my task is complete. It is where I go to rest and rejuvenate. It is my safe sanctuary that I make my own. To have peace in this world, I must also have a mental “home” to return to again and again. Some people talk about going to a mental “happy place.” But Paul is talking about more than what makes me happy. Thinking about eating chocolate ice cream makes me happy, but I wouldn’t say this is morally excellent necessarily. Instead of despairing about evil, I should refocus my thoughts on good. Jesus conquered death and evil. He has a plan for me to participate in His work cleaning up the shards of evil that remain in this world. As I do this work He has for me, I will get my hands (and mind) dirty. Everyday, I should come home to shower off the day’s grime of evil with the true, pure, lovely… good thoughts of Jesus’s beautiful kingdom.
Dear God,
Thank you so much for your beautiful goodness. There are so many wonderful things, even in this fallen world, that feed my soul. Remind me of them when I begin to be overwhelmed by the ugliness around me. Teach me to live and work for you in the world while keeping my mind and heart focused on your truth and beauty. Please forgive the times when I have contributed instead to the ugliness.
CamDevo 