Can’t Get No Satisfaction? Focus Your Faith on What’s Right Rather than What’s Not (Phil. 4:4-9)

Sometimes a situation can be viewed in two very different ways. These brief commercials for Ameriquest Mortgage explore how different people can see the same situation but reach different conclusions: (video). Sometimes different people can see the same situation but reach different conclusions.

Paul writes about this in Philippians: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Phil. 4:4-9 TNIV)

On the one hand, it appears that Paul is writing to some who look at their situation and what they see leads to anxiety. The fact that Paul has to command them to “rejoice in the Lord always” and that he has to say it again, “Rejoice!” suggests at least some were not rejoicing. The fact that he mentions anxiety in vs. 6, and describes God as the “God of peace” in vs. 7 and vs. 9 suggests at least some were struggling with anxiety and a lack of peace. In addition, this text is part of a larger section which begins in vs. 1: 1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! Perhaps some of them are not standing firm. Perhaps some of them are wobbly. What led to them being wobbly, lacking peace, being filled with anxiety, and lacking joy? Perhaps the answer is given in vs. 8. Perhaps they are not doing what Paul commands them to do. Perhaps they are not thinking about what is excellent or praiseworthy. Perhaps they are thing about what’s not right rather than what is right. And it’s filling them with joylessness. Sometimes we focus on what is not right—this leads to joylessness.

There are plenty of wrong things these Philippians can think about. For example, in Phil. 2:1-4 we learn that in the church in Philippi, there church members pushing their own agendas. There are church members who care about no one besides themselves. In addition, in Phil. 4 we read of two prominent Philippian church leaders, Euodia and Syntyche, who are embroiled in a conflict so public that Paul calls them out by name. How would you like to belong to the church where everyone knew that two of the elders or two of the ministers were locked in a nasty conflict? And maybe some of these Christians had started obsessing about these things. These things kept them up at night. All they could see was what was not right with their church, what was not right with their lives. And it left them joyless.

It’s easy to do isn’t it? As in those videos, sometimes all we can see is a man killing a cat, a loved one dying, or a man eating something he shouldn’t. Sometimes we assume the worst. All we think about is what’s not right with church, with school, with my job, with my marriage, with my kids, or with my friends. There’s certainly enough wrong things we can think about isn’t there? In fact, let’s practice this. It’s only about 9/10 AM, but I’ll bet, with a little effort, we can think of some things that are not right or that haven’t gone well today. Maybe it’s something you heard on the radio or read in the paper. Maybe the toast burned. Maybe you got here late. Maybe you have a headache. Maybe you’re tired of meeting in a school. But for a moment let’s be critical, whiny, negative, and pessimistic. Shout some things that just are not right this morning… If we did this for about five minutes most of us would end up pretty depressed, wouldn’t we?

And we could expand this experiment. What if we took a moment for you to shout out all the things that are not right about this church? About your family or your marriage? About your school? About your body? About Memphis? About the White House? About Congress? We could come up with quite a list. And what would happen if we filled our minds with those

things? We’d become joyless people.

Max Lucado writes about a negative person he encountered while competing in the half-Ironman triathlon:[1] After the 1.2 mile swim and the 56 mile bike ride, I didn’t have much energy left for the 13.1 mile run. Neither did the fellow jogging next to me. I asked him how he was doing and soon regretted posing the question. “This stinks. This race is the dumbest decision I’ve ever made.” He had more complaints than a taxpayer at the IRS. My response to him? “Goodbye.” I know if I listened too long, I’d start agreeing with him. If you focus on all the things that aren’t right, you lose joy and hope very quickly.

This is one of the reasons I can’t listen to very much talk radio. It doesn’t matter if the host is a conservative or a liberal; a Republican or a Democrat. Many radio talk shows have the same three-point format: 1) list as many things as possible that are not right about the country, about our leaders, about our culture, or about our nation, 2) have listeners call and complain about those things, and 3) generally pontificate about those things for three hours. I find that after ten minutes of that, I’m feeling pretty depressed, pretty hopeless, and pretty joyless.

And that’s the thing about almost any situation. You can almost always find something not right. If you look hard enough you can find something wrong. And when those things become the focus of our thinking, we become joyless people.

But listen again to Paul’s words: 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. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Phil. 4:8-9 TNIV) Paul literally says “If there is any excellence, if there is any praise.” The word “excellence” referred to moral excellence or moral goodness in Paul’s day. The word “praise” means something worthy of praise. The word “if” means “since.” Paul is saying that since there are excellent things and praiseworthy things, they should become the focus of our thinking. One of the fundamental truths Paul wants to communicate is that there are excellent and praiseworthy things in life. There are things that are right in life. We might think that the only reason we complain or gripe or criticize is because there’s nothing good to praise or rejoice in. But Paul is saying especially to the Christians who may only be able to see the negative that there are excellent and praiseworthy things. There are things right in life, if you just look.

In vs. 8 Paul calls us to “think” about these excellent and praiseworthy things. Then he lists six examples of excellent and praiseworthy things. Some of us may have trouble thinking of just one or two. Paul lists six. [2]

· First, Paul says there are “true” things to fill our minds with. He urges us to think about whatever is true or truthful. The opposite of this would be fantasies—daydreaming about people or situations that will never become a reality.[3] Paul urges us to keep our mental health grounded in what is real and true.

· Second, Paul urges us to think about whatever is noble. This word means high or elevated. It means majestic. It refers to those things that lift the mind from the cheap and tawdry. The opposite of this would be things that are vulgar.[4]

· Third, Paul urges us to focus on whatever is right. This word also means “just.” It refers to a correct or just relationship with other people and with God. There are things that are right in our relationships with other people and in our relationship with God. We are to ponder those things.

· Fourth, we are to think about whatever is pure. This would mean things that are free from sin.

· Fifth, we are to think about whatever is lovely. The word refers to things that are attractive or winsome.

· Finally, we are to think about whatever is admirable or of good repute.

Paul urges us “think about such things.” The word “think” carries with it the idea of “letting your mind dwell on” something. We are to meditate constantly on these good things.

Paul then moves from describing these excellent and praiseworthy things to reminding the Philippians how they saw these things lived out in Paul’s life: 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. The close connection between vs. 8 and vs. 9 indicates that Paul is offering himself as an example of someone who has done what he describes in vs. 8.[5] Paul has practiced what he has preached in vs. 8. Paul has made a conscious decision to focus on the excellent and praiseworthy things of life. The result? Just look at how joyful Paul is. As we saw at the beginning of this series, Paul fills this letter with references to his joy. Even in the worst of circumstances he has found the ability to have great joy. Paul demonstrates that when we fix our minds on what is right, we find joyfulness. When we fill our minds with things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable we experience joy. With almost any situation, there are two approaches. We can focus on what’s wrong, and be filled with joylessness. Or we can focus on what’s right, what’s excellent and praiseworthy, and be filled with joyfulness.

A study by professor Vicki Medvec illustrates this.[6] Medvec studied Olympic medalists. Remember that in Olympic events there is a gold medal winner (1^st place), a silver medal winner (2^nd place), and a bronze medal winner (3^rd place). Medvec discovered that bronze medalists (3^rd place) were quantifiably happier than silver medalists (2^nd place). Here’s why: Silver medalists (2^rd place) tended to focus only on how close they came to winning gold. All they could think about was what they almost had but didn’t: the gold. They didn’t focus on what they did have. Thus, they weren’t satisfied with their silver medal. But bronze medalists (3^rd place) tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all. Thus they were happy just to be on the medal stand. You would think that bronze medalists (3^rd place) would be less joyful than silver medalists (2^nd place). After all, they raced slower and placed lower. But unlike silver medalists, bronze medalists were able to think about excellent and praiseworthy things. They were able to focus on what they had rather than what they didn’t. As a result, they were filled with joy.

Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, both psychology professors, once took three groups of volunteers and randomly assigned them to focus on one of three things each week.[7] The first group concentrated on hassles: everything that went wrong or that irritated them during the week. The second group focused on things for which they were grateful during the week, such as how kind and caring a boyfriend was. The third group merely recalled everyday events during the week, such as, “I went shoe shopping.” Not surprisingly the second group ended up being the happiest. They reported fewer negative physical symptoms such as headaches or colds, and they were active in many ways that were good for them. Those who focused on that for which they were grateful enjoyed a higher quality of life.

Nancy Ortberg writes about a time when she worked as a nurse.[8] I worked as a registered nurse for about ten years before my life took a different direction. One of my earliest patients was a young girl of about 14 who had been in a dirt bike accident. I met this young girl down in the physical therapy department. She was in a whirlpool bath. I had read her chart before I went down to work with her and had learned that as a result of the accident, her leg had been amputated below the knee. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be a 14-year-old girl with part of your leg missing. I introduced myself, and we made some small talk. Through the course of our time together, I learned that she was a follower of Christ, although she really didn’t say much about that. I was not prepared for her spirit, however, especially when she lifted her freshly amputated leg up above the bubbling water for me to see and said, “Look at how much I have left!” She excitedly told me that since the doctors were able to amputate below the knee, it was much easier to fit a prosthesis. She wondered how long it would take to heal so that she could get started with that. I heard most of what she was saying, but I wasn’t really paying much attention. My mind was fixed back on the “look how much I have left!” Her gratitude seemed really genuine. It wasn’t denial or a Pollyanna mentality. She knew she was missing a good part of her leg, and she wouldn’t have chosen that. But she was so very thankful for this bit of good news. Her spirit made my spirit soar that day. And I had two good legs. One situation, two perspectives: You can focus on the part of the leg that’s gone and get depressed; or you can focus on the part of the leg that remains, and experience joy.

How do we move into this way of living? As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this is an area where we need to train hard, not try hard. Instead of just trying hard to find something good to think about, we need to train. We need to develop some habits that will, slowly and over time, increase our ability to think about what is excellent and praiseworthy. In her book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook Adele Calhoun writes about the spiritual practice of “gratitude.” “Gratitude” is a way of cultivating positive thoughts. She suggests at least these five activities. First, sing songs that focus on God’s generosity. Second, gratefully share and give what you have with others as a sign of your thankfulness to God. Third, consciously express gratitude to others by cultivating a habit of saying “Thank you,” “I am so grateful,” ”You are so kind,” etc. Fourth, keep a “gratitude journal” in which you track the many gifts God brings to you. Finally, write letter of thanks to those who have touched your life. These small habits are like training. They will over time enable us to be more positive and thus more joyful people.

One of the practices I’ve enjoyed for several years is writing positive things in a journal. I mentioned two weeks ago how I write in a journal my sins, failures, and mistakes. But I also spend time each morning writing down something positive from the previous day. It’s usually just one thing. It might be a specific way the Holy Spirit grew fruit in my life. It might be a moment when I felt especially connected to God. But I’ve found that writing down that one positive thing each morning helps me to focus more on what’s right than what’s not.

I’d like you to practice doing this right now. Let’s take 15 seconds. Turn to someone near you and tell them one thing you are grateful for, one thing that’s going well, one thing that’s right in your life. Then, we’ll sing together.