Thinking Truth 

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things.” Philippians 4:8

I started a Bible study this week with a group of ladies.  We are going through Elizabeth George’s book “Loving God With All Your Mind”.  I have done this study before and the premise of the book, thinking truth, has been the principle that has most changed my Christian walk.

True is defined as; truth according to the scriptures, reality, or as Webster puts it, “being in accordance with the actual state of affairs”.  So thinking truth doesn’t leave room to worry about the “what if’s” of the past or the “what if’s” of the future.  There is no justification for despair or despondency.  Self-esteem is not based on the lie that “I’m a good person” but on the truth that “I’m a sinner, loved, forgiven and accepted by God”. Thinking truth does not include imagining what other people are thinking but recognizes that “love is not provoked, thinks no evil”. Thinking truth knows God is good while going through the deepest sorrows.

This is not a plan for thinking “happy thoughts” but rather a training program for correcting the lies that bring us down. One lie in your mind breeds another and before you know it you have spiraled down into a pity party, blown up in anger, or broken a relationship. Don’t let it happen. “Whatsoever things are true…think on these things.”