Think About These Things, part 2

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." - Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)

The Greek word translated here as "think" is λογίζομαι (logizomai). Logizomai means... well, "to think." Not merely to ponder or consider, but to recognize the reality of the situation. What Paul is instructing us to do is to look at life as God sees it, not through our own (frankly) out-of-focus vision. All we humans can see is through our own limited perception. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all! This is reality - not how we view life, but how God views life.

Logizomai requires two things: faith and discipline (oh! I do not like that word). Naturally, our minds tend to wander. We can sit in church on any given Sunday while the pastor delivers the most passionate, spot-on message he's ever given. Instead of engaging mentally, our minds might be floating all over the place:

Did I turn off the stove?
Did I pay the gas bill?
Is it Law and Order:SVU or Law and Order: Criminal Intent that's on tonight?
What is that under my fingernail?
Did I grab that Old Country Buffet coupon?
How does that woman get her hair to do that?
Boy, Law and Order sure isn't the same without Jerry Orbach...

You get the idea. The point is that we need to be thinking about God. Several times, the Psalmist instructs us to "meditate" on God's ways and Word. In fact, Paul is essentially echoing here the message found in Joshua 1:8: think about God's ways and put them into practice.

Next time around, we'll talk about where Paul says to focus our thoughts.