Me, My, Mine

Philippians 4:8: 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.

I don’t know if you think about yourself. I know I do, and I do that too much. If my mind were a house, the décor would be about thirty years out of date. It’s a place that even I don’t want to spend much time.

The cure for thinking about ourselves too much is, not surprisingly, to think about something else. It’s a matter of the old saying from the early computer age, “Garbage in, garbage out.” If we fix out minds on junk, we will soon be addicted to junk. If we fix our minds on the good around us, we will be filled with goodness.

Paul wrote about this truth to the church at Philippi. He knew that, if the church were to grow, it would be through the grace of God and the thoughts and actions of the believers. They had to think about admirable and loving qualities— and then put those qualities into action.

We must be about the same business. If we are outwardly directed, we won’t be paying attention to ourselves, but will be concerned for others and our world. And as we do, we will have a spirit of humility. The writer of Micah describes such a state in the sixth chapter and the eighth verse of the book: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. I believe that if we act justly and love mercy, then we will walk humbly with God. God has created us to live together with the Spirit among us. And this will keep us from being held captive in a house that is thirty years out of date. Amen.