How Christians Should Think – Part IV
Posted: November 11th, 2009
Today we get to the conclusion of our series studying how Christians should think (see Part I, Part II, and Part III) – in particular how Christians in a home business should think. By studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians (Chapter 4:4-9) we have seen that the Christian mind should be joyful, gentle, and prayerful. Today we see that the Christian mind should be focused. In verse 8 and 9 Paul writes,
“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 into action. And the God of peace will be with you.”
In these verses Paul teaches what the focus of a Christian’s thoughts needs to be. By focusing on the things he discusses you will be able to maintain an attitude of joyfulness, gentleness and prayer at all times. What you focus on is especially important for those of you who are building a home business. It is vital to remain positive, passionate and persistent if you want to achieve our business goals. Paul’s advice on focusing can make a big difference in allowing that to happen.
In verse 8 Paul says to focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. He summarizes these things as describing them as things that are excellent or praiseworthy. This is a statement that emphasizes the importance of positive thinking by describing what sort of positive things that you should think of. But what exactly should you think on that fits this description.
The first thing to think on is God and His character. Paul says to think about “whatever is true” and only God can be really considered to be truth. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). There is certainly nothing more excellent or praiseworthy than God himself. Thinking this way can include things such as memorizing and meditating on God’s Word, singing Christian songs or hymns in our mind, and reading Christian living books. The key way to be sure you are focused on God is by being consistently reading the Bible on a daily basis. This will help you to keep God at the center of your life and the focus of your thoughts.
What effect will focusing your thoughts on God do? First of all it should give you a sense of assurance that someone more powerful than you is in control. It should assure you of the fact that you have a creator who loves you. In fact he loved you enough to send his son to die for you.
Secondly, it should remove our anxiety. Countless times throughout Scripture you see that God is the provider. God has the power to do more than you can imagine, and he will do that to provide all of your needs. This should take a lot of pressure off in your home business. As John Maxwell once described it, “You don’t have to survive.” You can be freed from anxiety about meeting your needs by knowing that God will provide. Now this does not mean that you do not need to do your own part. You are to do everything you can with the skills you have been given, but there is a freedom in knowing that by doing our best all of your needs will be taken care of. It should also take the pressure off as we trust God for the results of your business. You are only responsible for doing our best. God takes responsibility for what will come out of the work you put in.
Secondly, you should focus on everything in your lives that is excellent. By focusing on what is going well, rather than what is going wrong you are able to better move forward in every area of life. You will move through struggles more smoothly, and not be as affected by setbacks. Notice that Paul is not saying that everything will be great, but rather by focusing on the things that are great you will be able to have a more positive outlook on everything in life. It is this kind of focus that will result in the joyful, gentle and prayerful mind that Paul had described earlier in this passage.
In a home business it is natural to face struggles and disappointment. At times it is easy to let the thoughts of what is not going well take your focus and preoccupy your mind. This leads to unhappiness, anxiety and even depression. Focusing on the things that are excellent and praiseworthy helps you maintain a positive, forward-looking attitude. By doing this you are better able to move through the times of struggle and on to bigger and better things.
Finally, in verse 9, Paul says to be focused on action. You are to put into practice everything that you have learned, received, heard or seen in Paul. This can be expanded to say that we need to put into practice everything we have learned in Scripture. God uses His Word to teach us how to live. The principles that we find in the Bible are designed to encompass every area of our life. They are not just words for Sunday morning, but rather are designed to be seen in everything we do. They are even important in our business!! The Bible is NOT out of date or irrelevant in today’s business world. Rather it contains vital truth that we can center all of our business practices on.
Paul ends this section with a reminder of the promise he stated a few verses early. If you put into action what he has taught and if you keep your focus on things that are excellent and praiseworthy the God of peace will be with you. You can be assured that God, who’s peace, “transcends understanding, will guard you hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus (4:7).” And that peace can make all the difference in the world as you build a business filled with natural emotional highs and lows.
Written by:
Danny Gamache
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I came across this powerful clip from the movie “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”. It shows Walther Raleigh recounting to Elizabeth what it is like to set sail across the ocean for the New World. It is a POWERFUL illustration of having hope through fear.
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