How A Christian Should Think – Part I

Posted: September 2nd, 2009

Paul is in prison in Rome.  He is in jail for his faith.  And yet during this time the Apostle Paul writes a letter to a group of believers in Philippi – a church that he had started a number of years before.  Paul’s letter is not one of pain and sorry.  It is not one of complaints or questioning.  Rather it is a letter of joy; a letter encouraging and imploring the believers of Philippi to always be joyful, no matter what the circumstance. Near the end of this letter Paul provides some very concise instructions.  These are not any instructions, but rather instructions on how a Christian should think.  In this article we will start a series examining how a Christian should think.  In particular, how a Christian in a home business should think.  The passage is Philippians 4:4-9.  We’ll learn how the Christian’s thoughts should be joyful, gentle, thankful and focused.

Being able to think as God would direct us to think is vital.  Psychologist William James said,

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.”

And what better way to think than the way we are directed to by God.  Altering the way we think can truly have a great influence on how we live our lives.

In this first article of the series, we will take a look at the first of these points from this passage, that the Christian mind should be joyful.  Paul makes it very clear:

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice! (v.4)”

Paul wants to get his point across so clearly that he repeats himself.  He tells us to “rejoice” not just once, but twice. Paul repeats this key word to stress the importance of his message.  First and foremost, the mind of a Christian should be joyful.

Paul is telling us to have a mind filled with joy.  Remember, that Paul is in jail.  In prison for his beliefs, and yet he is obviously filled with joy.  However, Paul clearly states that this message of joy is not just for people who are facing persecution, rather we are to be rejoicing ‘always’!  Whether things are great, terrible, or we are just having a regular day, we are to be rejoicing!

Even more important than this, the key to this verse might not be in the fact that we are called to be joyful at all times, but rather the reason for our joy. We are to “Rejoice in the Lord”.  We are not rejoicing because of our own ability, because of how good life is, or on our current successes.  Rather we are to be rejoicing in “the Lord!” We are to rejoice in who Jesus is and what He has done for us.  That is rejoicing in the Lord!

So how does this transfer into our home business? I believe that having a mind filled with joy and being someone who is excited about life is important in any home business.  The state of our mind has a direct influence on the state of our emotions and our attitudes.  In our business it is vital to stay positive and enthusiastic.  The people who build quick and long lasting home business are those with the ability to be enthusiastic and positive at all times.

If we want to live our lives by being joyful and enthusiastic every day we need to have the joy of Christ.  In fact it is impossible to have true joy without Christ.  In his book, “Celebration of Discipline”, Richard J. Foster says that

“Without obedience [to Christ], joy is hollow and artificial.”  True joy only comes from a proper relationship with God.  The only true joy is “in the Lord!”

The problem is that being in a home business and dealing with people, means that there are many ups and downs.  There are going to be many times when we are seeing great success and our business is growing.  There are also going to be times when our business is struggling, where people are dropping out of our business, and others are just not following through on their commitments.  When dealing with people disappointments are inevitable.

When times are going great and we are seeing success and growth, the struggle will not be in having a mind filled with joy rather it will be in centering that joy in the right place.  When things are going great we must make a special emphasis that our joy is “in the Lord!”  Remember that your success is because the Lord has provided.  Use your periods of success to give glory to Him. Also by being joyful in the Lord, it will cause us to remember that there are a lot of things in life more important than the growth and success of our business.

When we are struggling in our business and things are not going the way we want them too, then the struggle is being joyful at all.  In “The Power of Positive Thinking”, Norman Vincent Peale says,

“The blows of life, the accumulation of difficulties, the multiplications of problems tend to sap energy and leave you spent and discouraged.  In such a condition the true status of your power is often obscured, and a person yields to a discouragement that is not justified by facts.”

In other words, things are not as bad as we make them out to be.  We need to change our focus and focus on Jesus and all the reasons why we have to be joyful. In other words, view things apart from our business, or apart from whatever is discouraging us.  Remember, Paul was in jail when he wrote these words, if anyone had reason to be discouraged and depressed it was Paul.  No matter how the struggles in our lives, likely we are not near in the situation that Paul was.

And we have every reason to rejoice! Christ has died for our sins!  God sent his only Son who died for you and me!  We have a God who loves us and cares for us.  A God who has provided for us a way to eternal life!  When we really look at these things it makes our business seem pretty small.  So if we are seeing great success in our business, then we need to remember that our joy must be in the Lord.  If we are struggling, we need to remember that the business is not our life. It is not who we are.  We are first and foremost, children of God.  No matter what the time or circumstance we are called to have a mind that is filled with Joy.  Joy in the Lord!

Written by:
Danny Gamache

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