Share Post – Follow Me
Summary:
Join me on the podcast as I talk about taming our thoughts and what Paul meant in Philippians 4:8 when he said to “dwell on these things.”
Podcast Transcript:
Hi friend, I’m Brigette Henry. And welcome to the Journey Together Podcast where I share all things related to faith, Christian living and your spiritual formation journey.
Today, we’re going to be talking about the importance of taming our thoughts and we’re going to be looking at Philippians 4:8. But first, I want to address a common misconception.
We Don’t Have Complete Control of Our Thoughts
There are a lot of Christians that believe that we should have complete control over our thoughts. But that’s not how our brains work. Our subconscious processes information, and our conscious reveals small pieces of that information. That’s why thoughts seem to pop out of nowhere.
When we feed our subconscious ungodly things, ungodly things seem to pop into our heads. That’s why in 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul says,
we take every thought captive to obey Christ.
In the Faithlife Study Bible, the commentary says this verse
implies believers must submit their thoughts to Christ and bring them into conformity with His will.
So how do we do this? We do this by choosing what we dwell on. We accept that thoughts may pop into our head without our control. But we choose whether or not we are going to engage them or dismiss them and move on.
Philippians 4:8
In Philippians 4:8, Paul mentions 8 kinds of thoughts that we should be dwelling on. This is what he says:
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.
When I’m struggling with my thoughts, I run through these 8 things and I ask myself, “am I thinking things that are true? Am I thinking things that are honorable? Am I thinking things that are just?” But, I’ve not always been clear on what all of those things mean. Like, what does it mean to dwell on things that are commendable, or morally excellent, or lovely or praiseworthy?
So I thought today we could dive into this verse together and talk about each of these eight things, what Paul meant, and what that looks like practically.
True
So the first thing Paul tells us to dwell on are things that are “true”. This is the Greek word alēthēs and it means “loving the truth, speaking the truth” and being “truthful”.
So here’s my question for you: do you love the truth?
That’s kind of a weird question. But let me put it another way: do you love creating drama? Do you gossip? Do you dwell on worst-case scenarios? These are all ways that we embrace lies.
In John 8:44, Jesus refers to Satan as the “Father of lies”. Satan uses these lies to mislead us and draws us away from God. And, we dwell on lies more than we might think.
Examples
For example, the other day, I was running late. And the reason I was running late was because I thought my destination was only 15 minutes away. But it was actually 20 minutes away. I realized this right before we walked out the door, but by then it was too late. We were already running five minutes late. And instead of recognizing that it was my mistake, I blamed it on someone else.
And that’s because in my mind I was thinking it wasn’t my fault. It had to be somebody else’s fault. I dwelt on and embraced a lie, and as a result, lies came out of my mouth.
I also struggle with hypotheticals. Like, fake conversations I have in my brain. This happens quite frequently. I will have entire arguments with people in my mind. And sometimes I forget that those arguments never really happened. And it can affect my relationship with them because I start treating them differently even though that conversation never happened.
When I’m struggling with my thoughts, and I run through the 8 different kinds of thoughts that Paul says we should have in this verse, I usually don’t get very far past “true”. And that’s because we spend a lot of time dwelling on lies. Little lies, but things that really affect how we interact with other people.
So make sure that you’re choosing to dwell on things that are true.
Honorable
The second thing that Paul tells us to dwell on are things that are “honorable”. The Greek word for honorable is semnos, and it means “to be venerated for character”. I had to look up the word “venerated” because I could not remember what it meant. Oxford languages defines it as “regard with great respect” or “revere”. So basically, if you’re honorable, people respect you because you have good character. Honorable thoughts would earn us respect.
So my question for you is, “would your thoughts earn you respect? If someone knew what you were thinking, what would they think of you?”
We don’t always have very honorable thoughts. For example, maybe you’ve thought about someone who is not your spouse in a sensual way. Or, maybe you hoped something bad would happen to someone you disliked.
I am hesitant to admit that is definitely me. I don’t always think nice things about other people. But God calls us to dwell on honorable things.
And, as a reminder, dishonorable thoughts may pop into our head. Especially if we have pain or trauma in the past associated with specific people. But we get to choose whether we dwell on dishonorable thoughts or not.
If you’re someone who struggles often with thinking bad things about other people, or wishing bad things would happen to them, I want to encourage you to see a professional to talk about and process your pain and trauma in a safe environment so that your subconscious isn’t bogged down by all of these terrible thoughts.
Just
The third thing that Paul tells us to dwell on is things that are “just”. The Greek word used for “just” is dikaios. And the Blue Letter Bible says it’s “used of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in the heart or life”.
I think that a really good way to summarize that is “Christ-like”. Christ is our ultimate example. So when you’re struggling with thoughts and you’re not sure whether or not they’re just, you can ask yourself, “what would Jesus think? What would Jesus dwell on?” Christ-like thoughts align with God’s sense of justice, not ours.
Sometimes we form our own idea of God based on our sense of justice. But when it comes to dwelling on things that are just, we need to look to God’s sense of justice, not our own. And in that, Christ is our best example.
Pure
The fourth thing Paul tells us to dwell on is things that are “pure”. This is the Greek word hagnos which means “sacred” or “pure from every fault.
Have you ever justified something you were thinking about? Maybe you were angry at a friend, and you thought to yourself, “I’m just thinking about it because I’m worried about them as a sister-in-Christ.” Or maybe you were dwelling on sinful thoughts and you tell yourself, “I’m just thinking about it, I’m not acting on it.”
These thoughts are not worth dwelling on. And they can actually hurt our relationship with God. When we believe the lie that these borderline thoughts are OK, we leave our hearts unprotected. And Satan is sneaky. He likes to dance on that fine line between OK and not OK.
Genesis 3:5 is a really good example of this because Satan tells Eve a half-truth. This is what he says when he tells Eve to eat the fruit:
God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Now, it was true that if Adam and Eve ate the fruit they would receive divine knowledge. But, Satan did not tell Eve what the consequences would be, including the greatest consequence, which was separation from God. So, make sure you watch out for half-truths and stick to thoughts that are “pure from every fault”.
Lovely
The fifth thing Paul tells us to dwell on is thoughts that are lovely. This is the Greek word prosphilēs and it means “acceptable” or “pleasing”. This is the only time this word is used in scripture, and I did a lot of research to try to figure out if that’s a good definition for this word. We’re going to trust the expert on this one and use the definition “acceptable” or “pleasing”.
So my question for you is “do we dwell on things that aren’t pleasing?”
Making Ourselves Miserable
Have you ever made yourself miserable just for misery’s sake? Maybe you were recalling moments from the past and dwelling on mistakes that you made. There is this lie in modern Christianity that we should be miserable. But Ecclesiastes paints a very different picture. Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, who was known for his wisdom, and in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20. Solomon explains that we should enjoy things in this life.
The Voice Translation
I’m going to read this from the Voice translation. It’s one of my favorite translations. It was done by a group of poets and playwrights and musicians who really looked at Scripture from an artistic perspective. And so, when they translated conversations, they wrote them like you would play. And so, it’s a very interesting version of the Bible. I found that if I don’t understand what scripture’s trying to say, especially when I’m reading something like poems or the wisdom books, that the Voice translation is really helpful for me.
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
So this is what it says in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, Solomon says:
Then it dawned on me that this is good and proper: to eat and drink and find the good in all the toil that we undertake under the sun during the few days God has given, for this is our lot in life. Also, God gives wealth, possessions, and power to enjoy those things, and He allows them to accept their lot in life and to enjoy hard work. This is God’s gift. For people like this have no time to despair over life because God keeps them so busy with a deep-seated joy.
We do not have to be miserable. God wants us to enjoy what we have and part of our evidence for that is the fact that we naturally pursue and enjoy lovely things. And that’s because we’re made from more than what we have on this Earth. God intends for us to be the kind of people that embrace lovely thoughts. So, make sure that the things that you’re dwelling on are lovely, acceptable, and pleasing.
Commendable
The sixth thing that Paul tells us to dwell on are things that are “commendable”. This is the Greek word euphēmos, and it means “reputable”, “of good report”, “things spoken in a kindly spirit”, or “with goodwill to others”. This is also a Greek word that is only used in scripture here, and it comes from the Greek words eu and phēmē, eu meaning “good” and phēmē, meaning “fame” or “report”. So like, things of good report.
A Commendable Story
To me, this one is closely tied to “lovely”, but it reminded me of this story I heard the other day about a group of men in their 80s who chose to go to the same nursing home so they could start a church there and serve each other, and the other residents. Now I read that on Facebook or Instagram so I’m not sure it’s true. But if it is true, it’s commendable, and commendable things encourage us. I was so inspired after I read that story. I’ve really been struggling with watching people not finish their race well and so to see these men be intentional about how they’re ending their race was really encouraging to me.
But the opposite is true as well. When we dwell on things that are commendable, they encourage us. But when we dwell on things that aren’t commendable, it dulls our sense of morality, which we’re going to talk about in a minute. A good example of this: sometimes we laugh when people are clever and steal money from their bosses or companies, like for example, maybe somebody’s boss is mean to them, so they figure out how to eat out on the company’s dime. We consider this some sort of poetic justice or ironic justice, but this is not God’s justice. This is not something that inspires us to be more Christ- like. This isn’t something that’s commendable.
We can be very flexible about things like that because we start to embrace our own sense of justice. But we need to remember to pursue God’s sense of justice, and to dwell on things that are truly commendable in God’s eyes.
Morally Excellent
The seventh thing that Paul tells us to dwell on are things that are “morally excellent”. This is the Greek word aretē, which means “virtuous” and “moral goodness”.
Have you ever gotten depressed thinking about something that is not morally excellent? Maybe you heard a terrible story on the news and it just took you down for days. A couple months ago I heard a story online. I actually chased it from a Facebook post and then Googled it because I wanted more information. And then I sobbed for an hour and realized maybe I should not have searched further.
We are going to be exposed to things that are not morally excellent while we live on this earth. But choosing to dwell on these things for a prolonged period of time can corrupt our sense of justice, goodness, and virtue. I personally really struggle with the news. I cannot be inundated with news. It stresses me out, and I really start to lose focus on God’s will and God’s design for our lives here on earth when I’m constantly dwelling on things that are not morally excellent.
The Pour Over
So, in order to get the news and still know what’s going on in this world, but to also prevent myself from being overwhelmed, I use the Pour Over. It’s an e-mail service. They send you an e-mail three times a week with the news. You can read the entire e-mail in 5 to 7 minutes, and it’s just little highlights of what’s happened around the world in the last couple days. There are links so you can click on them to learn more. There are verses and biblical perspectives in the newsletter so that you can process the news in a biblical way. I just find the e-mail really helpful. There are even days where I see it come into my inbox and I don’t read it because I know that I am just not prepared to read whatever is going on in the world right now.
Too Much Bad News
A few years ago I was introduced to the idea that we are not made to have access to this much bad news. Think about it, 200 years ago people didn’t know what was going on in the other side of the world. And now we know about every war, every attack in every war. We know the body count. We know how many people were injured. We know everything about everything.
And it’s overwhelming. Some people can handle more than others, and I do not want to discourage people from being involved in our world or from learning what’s going on in the world because I do think that is important. And that’s why I decided to use the e-mail service the Pour Over, because that way I’m still getting the news. But I’m not overwhelming myself.
Because when we overwhelm ourselves with things that are morally not excellent, we can become depressed. And we can lose sight of why God has us here. There are other ways that we can dwell on things that are not morally excellent, but for me the news is the one that bothers me the most. So take a minute later today and just consider, “what encourages me to think morally excellent thoughts? How can I think morally excellent thoughts more often?”
Praiseworthy
The last thing that Paul tells us to dwell on are things that are “praiseworthy”. This is the Greek word epainos, and it means “something commendable”. I searched through scripture and all the places where this Greek word is used and all of the examples in Scripture either referred to ways that God was praiseworthy, or ways that people were praiseworthy.
And it made me think, “how often do I dwell on ways that other people deserve praise?” Usually, I’m thinking about the ways that other people have messed up. But could I change that tune and maybe think about ways that people deserve praise? Like, when my husband is bothering me because he doesn’t throw his trash away, could I remind myself of the other good things that he does around the House? The other ways that he acts in a praiseworthy manner?
Also, when we start thinking about ways that other people are not acting in a praiseworthy manner, maybe we need to consider how we could act in a praiseworthy manner. When we waste our time thinking about the ways that other people don’t measure up, or the ways that we don’t measure up, we are not reflecting God’s character. So we need to make sure that the thoughts that we have are dwelling on things that are praiseworthy.
Summary
So again, the eight things we should dwell on are things that are true, honorable, just pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent and praiseworthy. And I want to encourage you to memorize those eight things or write them down and keep them close by so that when your thoughts start to trail off, you can ask yourself if the things that you’re dwelling on fit all eight of those characteristics.
Join the Conversation
Now, there’s definitely more to be said about this topic. So, if you have anything that you could contribute to this conversation, or if you want to ask questions and be a part of this conversation, I want to encourage you to join us on Facebook in the Journey Together Facebook Group. Starting this Saturday, June 15th, I’m going to be posting a prompt. It’ll just say something like “Join the Conversation”, and it’ll mention this podcast. And then you will have the opportunity to have a conversation in the Facebook group with me and with the other ladies in the group about this topic.
There’s no time limit on this conversation, so if you’re hearing about this after Saturday, June 15th, 2024, you can always go to the group and join the conversation late. I hope that these conversations about these podcasts become ongoing conversations and are a tool that we can all use to grow in our faith. We learn together.
You can also restart the conversation in the group if you can’t find the post. You can always just pop in there and say “hey, I just listened to this podcast. What do you guys thinking? You know, these are the things that I struggle with. What do you struggle with?” I would absolutely love it if you started a conversation in our Facebook group. You do have to answer a couple questions to join. But I promise you they’re not hard and I’m not tough. I just do that to make sure that the people who are joining aren’t going to be adding spam to the group or anything like that.
Sign Off
So again, this Saturday, June 15th and then after that. After every podcast, I will put a post up so that we can have a conversation within the Facebook group about the podcast topic. We would love it if you joined us.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, rate the show and share it with your friends. I would really appreciate it!
Thank you for joining me today. I’ll be back next week as we continue this Spiritual Formation Journey Together.
Links:
CONTACT ME at: brigette@brigettehenry.com
Join the JOURNEY TOGETHER FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/journeytogetherchristianwomen
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/spiritualformationjourney/
JOIN MY MAILING LIST: https://brigettehenry.com/subscribe
Things I Mentioned Today:
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: https://www.facebook.com/groups/journeytogetherchristianwomen
THE POUR OVER: https://www.web.thepourover.org/subscribe?ref=v7qxo7jGSu
THE VOICE TRANSLATION: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/the-voice-bible/
JEN WILKEN’S BOOK “IN HIS IMAGE”: https://www.christianbook.com/image-ways-god-calls-reflect-character/jen-wilkin/9781433549878/pd/549878?product_redirect=1&search_term=jen%20wilken%20in%20his%20image&Ntt=549878&item_code=&ps_exit=PRODUCT|legacy&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP
Other Fun Links:
Not sure what to focus on during your QUIET TIME? Take the “Find Your Focus” Quiz here: https://brigettehenry.com/find-your-focus-quiz/
Check out THE QUIET TIME GUIDE and learn how to craft an intentional and effective Quiet Time: https://brigettehenry.com/product/the-quiet-time-guide
Visit MY WEBSITE: https://brigettehenry.com
Music by: Morning Garden – Acoustic Chill by Olexy on Pixabay
Notes:
All scripture is CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
All Greek word definitions come from Strong’s Definitions. You can get access to this resource and more at blueletterbible.org.
Share Post – Follow Me
