Recent headlines and news stories have been more than enough to put people into foul moods, with minds filled with unpleasant thoughts. The stories of mass murder, hatred, heightened threats of war, weather catastrophes, and other horrors seem almost overpowering, causing genuine wonder as to the future of our nation and our world, so instead of being kind to one another and enjoying the best that this world has to offer, we are instead quick tempered and stand-offish. Not exactly the “love is in the air” thoughts that are frequently associated with springtime.
Many of us know that we shouldn’t be this way, and we even recognize it when anger starts rising up in us. Unfortunately, our natural response is to think something along the lines of “Don’t be angry.” Every time that we repeat that in our minds, we reinforce the idea that we really are angry, which then automatically leads us back to the things that we are angry about. Instead of calming us down, we keep ourselves in a perpetual state of agitation. This cannot help but influence our behavior, which in turn feeds our thoughts, which drives us further and further away from peace, whether that be with each other, ourselves, or with God.
The Apostle Paul was writing his letter to the church in Philippi on the topic of peace, when he included the following exhortation: “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” (Phil 4:8). Paul recognized two key points for us to remember. First, the peace that we seek is directly related to the thoughts that occupy our minds. Second, instead of trying to stop thinking about the things that agitate us, we instead need to focus our minds on those thoughts that bring us peace. We must radically change the focus of our thoughts.
I’m not advocating some sort of pollyannish ignorance where we turn a blind eye to anything that isn’t right, pure, lovely or admirable. To do so would be to ignore the truth of the world that we live in, a world where we find both good and evil. However, I am suggesting that step away from the barrage of commentary and social media that seems so focused only on the dissection and deliberation of that which is evil. We don’t stop being evil by thinking more about evil. Instead, we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
We’re blessed in this community to have plenty of examples of things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, and/or admirable. All we have to do is put down our phones or tablets, turn off our televisions, and look around. The beauty of God’s creation surrounds us, which should give us ample incentive to reflect on things that are good. In fact, it may even cause us to think deeply about the One who is truly good. When our minds lead us there, we find peace – a peace that the world so desperately needs.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron