Like a lot of writers, I keep a little notebook in which I jot ideas for future pieces. Sticking out of the top of it for almost a year now is a devotional page I tore from a May, 2019 “Upper Room.” On it I wrote, ” Save for blog.” I reread it this morning and decided it’s time to weave it into a word to help us in these turbulent times to stay the course .
Entitled, “Accidental Wisdom,” it is an amusing yet thoughtful story shared by a woman with the writer Randy Kilgore. The scripture reference is Philippians 4:8. The Apostle Paul wrote this epistle to the predominantly Gentile church he had established in the Macedonian city of Philippi on his second missionary journey. It’s basically a letter that commends the Philippians for their faith and encourages them to focus their lives on living as much like Christ as possible. (This little biblical history is added as a perk.) The woman told of an incident with her preteen son who she admonished for watching news coverage of a violent event. Turning off the television produced the inevitable argument which the mother ended by stating that he needed to fill his mind with “whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…” Later that day as the parents watched the news their five year old daughter came in and proceeded to turn off the television and with the self-righteousness of the very young proclaim that they didn’t need to watch that “stuff,” and should “think about those Bible things!”
The little miss know-it-all’s accusatory tone has merit. If the dark side of life is off limits for big brother, shouldn’t it be for their parents too. Followers of Christ must take to heart the advice Paul gave to our biblical ancestors when he wrote, “Finally brothers and sisters, 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.” Aside from the obvious lesson that parents have to be careful to practice what they teach, is the reality that what we allow into our minds does have consequences. In this era of a viral pandemic, two mindsets are ours to embrace. We can adhere to the apostle’s advice above or we can fill our minds with what is false, what is ignoble, what is wrong, what is impure, what is deplorable, and what is inferior or blameworthy. Filling our days and evenings with a constant barrage of doom and gloom inevitably leads to depression and despair and fear. We must balance what we read and hear so that we can sift through all of it and arrive at the truth. That truth as understood from Paul’s words will insure a mindset that keeps its focus on Christ. And a mind that is stayed on Christ will be at peace in the midst of any crises, including the current one.
Love. Joy. Peace.