Whatever we spend our time thinking about, plants seeds in our minds, and those seeds eventually grow into actions. Few passages of Scripture capture this truth more clearly than Philippians 4:8–9. Writing from prison, the Apostle Paul does not begin with complaints or escape plans. Instead, he turns our attention inward, to the overlooked but decisive arena of the mind.
“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… And the God of peace will be with you.”
Paul understood what modern science continues to confirm, that our thought life either enhances or diminishes our spiritual life. Though the human brain weighs only about three pounds, physicist Michio Kaku once observed that it is “the most complex object in the solar system.” It can store an estimated 2.5 million gigabytes of information—roughly the equivalent of 300 years of television programming. Yet despite its capacity, Henry Ford famously noted, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.”
Thinking is never neutral. Unhealthy thoughts have a way of filling the unclaimed spaces of our minds. Paul does not call believers to empty their minds of everything negative, but to intentionally fill them with what is good. Just as our computers and smart devices are vulnerable to spam, corrupt code, and viruses, so our minds are vulnerable to disinformation, lust, impure motives, and manipulation.
As one pastor aptly put it, “The devil knows that if he can capture our mind, he holds our future.” Paul’s words remind us that mental discipline is not optional for a Jesus follower—it is absolutely essential.
Paul is not naïve. He is not suggesting that positive thinking will eliminate all trouble. Rather, he is proposing that meditating on noble things helps us avoid unnecessary trouble. Eugene Peterson’s rendering in The Message captures Paul’s pastoral wisdom well:
“Fill your minds and meditate on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”
Paul urges believers to reflect, meditate, contemplate—or, as my maternal grandfather use to say, cogitate. Earlier in Philippians, Paul had already challenged the church, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Before we can walk as Christ walked and talk as Christ talked, we must first learn to think as Christ thought.
Galileo insisted, “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” Faith does not require the abdication or abandonment of thought. Faith teaches us to love God with our minds. This mean that the way we exercise our minds to do problem-solving, conflict resolution, imagining, visioning, strategizing, and discernment are all ways of loving and honoring God.
When we intentionally focus on what is true, right, and admirable, God often synchronizes our thinking—bringing clarity, unity, and spiritual harmony among people of faith.
Paul refuses to separate thinking from living. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.” Thoughts always precede action. When we focus on negative thoughts, we produce negative actions. When we dwell on lustful thoughts, we produce lustful actions. But when we focus on noble thoughts, we produce noble actions. And when we focus on kingdom thoughts, we produce kingdom actions.
Ralph Waldo Emerson captured this progression beautifully: “Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.” Right thinking bears visible fruit.
Paul concludes with a promise we desperately need: “And the God of peace will be with you.” Peace is not portrayed as the absence of problems but as the presence of God. When disciplined thinking leads to faithful living, God’s peace steadies us, even in uncertain circumstances.
In the 1960s, excavations at one of Herod the Great’s palaces uncovered 2,000-year-old seeds from the Judean date palm, seeds that were long thought extinct. In 2005, scientists successfully germinated one of those ancient seeds. Today, that tree has produced fruit and pollinating offspring. What was buried and dormant for centuries came to life again.
In much the same way, the thoughts we plant—truthful, noble, beautiful thoughts—can bear fruit far beyond what we imagine.
As we continue growing in faith and friendship, we are invited to keep refocusing our minds on what is good, to meditate on what is beautiful, and to pursue excellence in all things. And because thinking shapes direction, many of us go through seasons of rethinking our faith or our church connection.
For those going through a cycle of deconstruction, especially in religious faith or philosophy of life, don’t despair when your assumptions and presuppositions unravel. Keep thinking and processing as you discern which values to embrace and which baggage to discard.
The Bible never discourages us from thinking. It actually mandates that we “think on these things.” The sacred discipline of thinking can help us to more fully become the persons we were created to be.
Cove Creek Reflections 