Think Rightly

“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.”  Philippians 4:8

A person with a clear spiritual mind wants to pursue the Lord’s will, plan, and purpose for his life.  – Charles Stanley

The world’s most popular pornographic internet site released a statistic in January 2016 regarding the hours that viewers watched porn in 2015.  On their site alone, viewers watched over 4 billion hours of videos.  That means they saw over 450,000 years worth of pornography in terms of hours.

Wickedness has always been around.  But wickedness has never been as accessible as it is today.  The digital age brings with it an abundance of evil.  I heard Christian apologist Josh McDowell say that internet pornography is the single greatest threat to Christian morality that the church has faced in 2000 years.

The apostle Paul reminds us in these verses to fix our minds on godly matters.  Verse eight can serve as a filter for our thoughts – if we will train ourselves to use it.  We should learn to frisk our thoughts when they appear in our brains.  Embrace truth in a world that loves falsehood.   Ask, “Is this an honorable or dishonorable line of thinking?”  Choose justice and purity for the internet sites we frequent.  Ask, “Would my family or friends think it is commendable to look at and think on such things?”  Choose to dwell on thoughts that are excellent and that are worthy of praise.

The battle for the successful, obedient Christian life begins in the mind.  The war is won or lost on that battlefield.  We can memorize Scripture, say no to inappropriate or questionable material, and ask the Spirit of God to serve as our guard and umpire.

Picture used by permission from Pixabay.