Debunking Philippians 4:8: it's not about thinking happy thoughts

(At least, not in the way I thought.)

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

I used to read Philippians 4:8 and get so annoyed. It makes me think of Peter Pan in the upstairs bedroom, sprinkling pixie dust on Wendy, John, and Michael and telling them the secret to be able to fly: “Think happy thoughts, and they will lift you into the air!” Which, don’t get me wrong, Peter Pan is pretty much my favorite story. Neverland. Pirates. Mermaids. Fairies and the lost boys. The prospect of never growing up and having no responsibilities forever. As far as stories go, it’s got everything--they don’t get much better than that.

But the problem is this: it’s a fairytale. It’s a genius fairytale, but no amount of pixie dust and happy thoughts and imagination is going to lift me into the air. So when God’s Word starts talking about thinking about good stuff in Philippians 4:8, I’ve always been confused. I usually hesitate for 0.2 seconds wondering why God said that and then plow on to the next verse.

Because if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got quite a few bad things you could think, and do think on. There are problems to solve, unpretty pieces of life, frustrations, disappointments, messy circumstances, and on the list tumbles. These things don’t fall under “honorable” or “worthy of praise,” in my opinion.

“Think good thoughts” almost comes across as a romanticized view of life—almost an encouragement to not see the evil permeating, corroding, mutilating the already-broken world around us. And as a (confession here) naturally cynical, critical, skeptic of a human, “think good thoughts” seems almost dishonest to me. (Not to mention unrealistic.) It seems like a bandaid where stitches are needed.

When I read Philippians 4:8 today, I decided I had to figure out what in the world it was talking about. I went to David Guzik's commentary, because sometimes he has something good to say, and guess what? David had something good to say:

“Noble . . . just . . . pure . . . lovely . . . good report . . . virtue . . . praiseworthy: These, Paul would say, are the fruit and the food of a mind that is guarded by the peace of God.”

Hold up. The context is so key here, because the verse before Philippians 4:8 says the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds. So Paul is telling us to guard our minds BY meditating on truth about God. God Himself is noble, just, pure, lovely, etc. The idea here is not an “I’m thankful for my family and friends and summer” thought. Nothing like that. Paul was talking about thinking on light and truth and the promises of God, on the attributes of God and the hope He gives. Think about what you know is true. Who is true? God is true. Think about what you know is praiseworthy. Who is praiseworthy? God is praiseworthy.

David Guzik threw in the cross references of Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 10:5 and this idea started to make a ton of sense as the verses meshed together. The verse in Romans says we have to “renew” our minds, or make them new again, and the one in 2 Corinthians says to “cast down” whatever “exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

So the idea is simple: Philippians 4:8 isn’t a command to look at life as though it were one long and happy fairytale sandwiched between a “once upon a time” and a “they all lived happily ever after.”

It’s a command to take captive my thoughts and believe the good things God says about Himself, me, and this life. To believe what is true.

Things like “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28), and “the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). His promise not to withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). His promise that I am being guarded by God’s power for an inheritance kept in heaven and that I always, always have living hope because of Christ (1 Peter 1). That’s a very miniscule list, but I think you get the idea.

And as a matter of fact, a good, good friend of mine is writing a post for the Illumine blog about what it means to make our minds new again, or “think Bible,” very, very practically. (I’m all about practicality.) So this post, in a way, is just an introduction to that.

Keep your eyes open, because it’s going to be a good one.