8Finally, 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.
And then Amanda asked me something I had yet to think of.
Does my attitude have anything to do with my most recent work environment?
Now, in all honesty that was an area I didn’t want to visit again. I had walked away from it, feeling damaged enough, and here I am asked to re-examine it? Perhaps it is the counselor in her, but she had a point; I needed to examine it more closely.
So reluctantly, I spent some time reflecting on that past environment and noticed some similarities in my thought patterns. While working where I did, it was made very clear to me that I did not give enough, or perform good enough. My performance was expected to be perfect, and though I knew perfection was not achievable, the criticism and negative attitudes constantly surrounding me, in time brought me down. In time, my thought pattern switched from one focused on Christ to one focused on myself. It changed from one of positive, Christ-centered thought to one of negative and overly critical thought.
I had allowed, unknowingly, this negative attitude to take over my thought life. And in turn, it has had a negative effect on my relationship with my wife. Instead of responding out of love and grace, I have misinterpreted everything as criticism and recoiled back until enough is enough, and I spring back with hurtful negativity. And all the time I have sat here wondering why things have not been fun like they used to be. Why do we not enjoy each other like we did before the wedding?
See, I never realized the significance of my thought patterns in relation to other areas of my life. I had been raised with the mentality that you leave work at work, and just assumed that meant the attitude stayed as well. And honestly, I had tried on several occasions to do just that. But the reality I believe is that you can never fully leave work at work; you can never fully separate an attitude associated with one thing from another. Our attitudes are transcendent; they are not independently attached to a given situation. They follow us from one to the other, just as we walk from point “a” to point “b”. Yet, I don’t believe we think that.
So we end up in a spot much like I am. Angry, bitter, stressed out, recoiling and springing with venom at those we love most. And all the while, not knowing why. Paul tells us though, in his letter to the Philippians how we should think.
8…whatever is true…noble…right…pure…lovely…admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things.
Our thoughts should be on what is good. What is holy…our thoughts should be on Christ and our Father. Not ourselves, and not the negativity we find surrounding us. Paul knew what a negative thought life could do to a person. He knew the destruction it could bring in its wake. He knew from experience that our thoughts have significant bearing on our actions and our words. The impact is great, for good or bad.
We live in a fallen world, so negativity will be with us until the end. Everywhere we go, everything we do; there will always be an element of negativity surrounding us. Yes, even within a group of believers. Being Christian does not make one immune to negativity. But the truth remains; God provides a way out when faced with sin and temptation. When we find ourselves pressed by negativity, we can turn to Paul’s words. See, it’s so easy to criticize someone, to put them down; especially when we’ve had it done to us. But as followers of Christ, we are called to be different. We are called to be holy just as the Father. Not that we will be perfect, but that in recognizing our imperfection we strive to follow Christ in all that we do. And practice of Paul’s words brings something much greater than any high some bit of criticism towards another can. It brings peace from God, one that transcends all understanding. The peace that deep down we humans desire, the filling of the void all posses from the fall; Peace from God is the answer we seek. The question then, is how badly do we want it? Are we willing to lay our pride down? Are we willing to humble ourselves not only before God, but in front of others? Are we willing to appear weak, when all we have shown is strength? Are we willing to trust in a God who is infinitely greater, infinitely more powerful, and infinitely more capable of fulfilling our needs than anyone or anything else conceivable?
Our beliefs shape our thoughts, and ultimately shape our actions. The real question we must wrestle with is what do you believe about God? Is He what the Scriptures say? Or is He some evil kill-joy, trying to ruin our lives? The things Paul encourages us to think about are essentially traits of God. He is noble, trustworthy, pure, true, right, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy! That is my God, and those are the things I want to think about. I want to think about Him. What I believe about Him, shapes what I think about Him. And in turn, this effects how I think about other things in my life.
Negativity, just like any other sin, only has a hold on us as long as we allow it to. Not that we in of our selves can defeat it. No, it is Christ! But as long as we lie down and allow ourselves to be overrun by Satan, negativity’s grasp on us will not weaken. It’s with Christ, when we wake up and recognize His power within us, through the Spirit we become more than conquerors. When we let go of the reigns of our life and turn them over to Christ, only then will negativity’s grip be broken. And with this freedom through and in Christ, we can practice Paul’s words of exhortation. We can through Christ, find the peace we long for. And ultimately our thoughts can be rightly placed on God and His Son.
Our thoughts influence more than we realize. And more than that, our beliefs are of greater importance than we often give them. We though, are the only ones who can decide what those beliefs will be.
So I ask, how do you want to think?
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