“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.” Philippians 4:8 NIV

For the next minute, I want you to stop and focus your mind on a thought that meets the criteria just as Paul has described it in the verse above.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Got something? Good. Now, hold onto that thought for as long as you can. Treat it as though it were the very air you breath and don’t let go of it until you have nothing left to hold onto it with.

Feel different? You should. You’re turning purple.

What does this thought look like to you? Is it something that comes easily into your mind or do you have to search around for something you think will match? I admit, there are times when I am so off the mark on what Paul is talking about that I begin to think I’m hopeless.

Thankfully, Jesus says otherwise.

As I dug around to try and come up with a translation of this verse that captured what I think was Paul’s intent, this is what I came up with:
Whatever is a rock-solid truth that cannot be shaken, that is so honest and true that it is worthy of reverence. It is through this sincere, undeniable truth that what is right and just can be envisioned as pure and unsullied by opinion or supposition. In its stately, magnificent presence it contains a beauty that immediately inspires love and is deserving of the highest esteem.

Anything that meets Paul’s criteria, that is to say, something that is superior to anything this world can possibly conjure to entice or lure you to lesser things, and that in its definitive glory points directly to the Holy One, then, my brothers and sisters, we should think on that.

And we should grab those thoughts and hold onto them with our every breath. Hold onto them for dear life.

With that in mind, I urge you just as Paul did, to think on such things as can only be of God and Heaven, and not of the trappings of this world.

“Your thoughts become your words and your attitudes. Where the mind goes, the man follows.” Joyce Meyer

Through such wondrous thoughts transformation occurs, and through such transformation, lives are saved, and the population of God’s great family grows.

And that, my friends, is truly praiseworthy.