Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
September 2, 1984
Think On These Things
Philippians 4:8-9, KJV
The factual evidence grows every day, yet every person has to learn the lesson for himself - we are what we think. Your mental attitude is perhaps the single most important factor when it comes to your physical health and emotional happiness. Just this week a local paper reported the results of a hospital study. The researcher interviewed patients who had a form of skin cancer and plotted their progress. When the study was over they found that mental attitude played a major role in the patient's progress. The patients who were aggressive and positive in their approach, even to the point of getting angry at the disease, were much more likely to recover than the ones who were passive and dejected.
The person's mental attitude is a factor in ninety percent of all illness. Everyone can get sick but a negative and bitter person will get sick more often and more severely. The crummiest disposition I ever met belonged to a patient Celeste had when we lived in Massachusetts. This woman was so bitter her digestive track wouldn't work. She cursed at every nurse and orderly who came within shouting distance. She didn't mumble, either. Every curse was carefully articulated so that the entire hospital wing could benefit. In the whole time she was there she never said a kind word to anyone, not even once. Her attitude did more than make her sick. It ended up alienating her from the ones who could help her the most. The nurses flipped coins to see who would be stuck with her (usually it was Celeste - they had it rigged).
Harboring anger, resentment and self-pity are sure-fire ways to set yourself up for failure. It's what psychologists call a downward spiral - by dwelling on negative thoughts you start to feel crummy, then you act crummy, which makes people treat you crummy so you now have a valid reason to be negative and you feel even crummier.
According to Jesus Christ, this downward spiral explains the human spiritual condition as well as emotional and physical problems. Turn to Mark 7:15. In this very important passage Jesus teaches that being a Christian is not so much a matter of doing religious things but is a matter of the heart. In verse 15 he says:
"There is nothing from outside a man, that entering into him can defile him [that is, make him unacceptable before God] but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man."
Just what is it than can defile us by coming out? He tells us in verse 21:
"For from within, out of the heart of men [we would call this the "mind" because they associated the heart with thinking] out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness [that means greed], wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness [lewdness], an evil eye [envy], blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."
It begins with evil thoughts. These thoughts take concrete form as sin and the result is eternal separation from God. This chain of events explains Jesus' approach to lust and hatred. He says if you have these thoughts in your head it is just as if you committed the acts of adultery and murder. What is in your thoughts will sooner or later be expressed in your life.
Sometimes thoughts can fester for years. A man in Ipswich, Massachusetts, was well liked by his neighbors and never caused any trouble. But he had a pregnant wife and two kids whom he resented. One day a neighbor sensed something was wrong and investigated. The bodies of the wife and children were found in their beds, suffocated. [1]
If you are an average sinner, this must sound pretty discouraging. Robert Lewis Stevenson once said: "We all have thoughts that would shame hell." I don't think any Christian ever masters total control of their thought life but we can do two things. We can give less room to evil thoughts and more room to the good ones.
It is significant that Paul puts the stress on positive thinking in Philippians 4:8. Eight qualities are mentioned. The first is things that are true. The Bible uses the idea of true in the sense of what is real. A Christian should concentrate on the real world and not on fantasy and phoniness. Cheap romance novels and lottery tickets are not the answer to your frustrations. Focus on what is concrete and real.
Whatsoever things are honest. "Honest" is not the best translation for this word. It means something that is noble and serious. There's a place for amusement and being light-hearted but our society tends to overdo it. The average American watches six hours of television a day. We need to unwind after a long day but not that much.
Whatsoever things are just. Christians should think about doing the right thing. It is easier to cut corners and get away with what is convenient, however, in the long run that's not a bargain.
Whatsoever things are pure. We're supposed to be clean-minded. This is a difficult one for many people. The average adolescent boy thinks about a certain topic once every four minutes according to researchers. We must focus our thoughts on purity and what will lift us up rather than drag us down.
Whatsoever things are lovely. Literally, it means concentrating on things that promote brotherly love. Instead of dwelling on friction and unpleasant relationships we should see how we can get along with people. This goes along with things of good report. Think about the positive qualities in people. They may have only one or two good qualities but it's better than nothing. Being destructively critical of people often backfires in our own faces because few of us can live up to the expectations we have for other people.
Virtue and praise epitomize this list. Virtue stands for everything that is excellent in human behavior. Praise brings in the heavenly dimension. Paul says we should think on these things. This kind of thinking is not like daydreaming. It means to concentrate or meditate. It's not surprising that many cults have discovered the power in mediating on positive thoughts. Transcendental Meditation, or TM, uses it. So does Scientology. Even modern psychology is exploring the healing effects of meditation.
Meditation itself is not wrong even though questionable groups use it. However, we have to keep it in perspective. One example would be the "positive thinking" preaching of Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller. They want people to feel good about themselves and have positive attitudes because God loves them. There's nothing wrong with that. I've also seen people have the positive attitude that God will give them a Cadillac if they meditate hard enough. That's not so good. Positive thinking is not a tool for ripping off goodies from God. Instead, it's a way of making ourselves useful for God. The only promise God gives in this passage is spiritual peace, not cars and money.
Another danger is assuming that positive thinking is all there is to being a Christian. Schuller has a real weakness here. He wants to attract non-believers and they respond well to the positive-thinking philosophy. As he points out in a recent interview, positive thinking is supposed to prepare people for the gospel and cannot save by itself. That's why his church has a strong Bible study ministry during the week. Unfortunately, this aspect is never mentioned on his television program. He tells them about God's love and prepares them for the gospel but never delivers it. As a result, millions of Americans think that positive thinking opens the gates of heaven.
I see positive thinking as a result of the gospel, not a basis for it. When I try to control my thought patterns I soon come to the conclusion that I can't do it on my own. I find that sinful attitudes are deeper and more damaging than I would care to admit.
Need a Savior. Once saved, positive thinking is part of God's renewal service. People must see a difference in us. Verse 9 - What I do, you do. Think and do.
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Typed on November 9, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
1. The details about the crime, which I recalled from memory of the time I lived in Ipswich, were omitted from the sermon. I found details on the internet, cached by Google at http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:TSK7AK7wPowJ:www.jurisearch.com/newroot/caselink.asp%3Fseries%3DMass.%26citationno%3D373%2BMass.%2B545+%22ipswich,+massachusetts%22+murder/suicide&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
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