“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.” (Phil. 4:8)
Many attitudes dominate the airwave that seek to keep me from discerning and living out God’s kingdom rule in my world. While they are not part of who I am, they are there, and they have the potential to influence my psyche. Here are some of them.
Rebellious resistance
As I look at my lot in life and, by focusing on and talking about what is not rather than what is, I could end up becoming a chronic protester. My constant expressions could revolve around these idioms:
– the authorities and governments are not doing it right;
– the social and economic systems are broken;
– the church has strayed from its course and is not doing what it should be doing;
– my job, my boss, how assignments are doled out and the conditions I have to work in are not right; and
– nothing is right.
Mind you, healthy resistance is beneficial, like when I see injustice done, or when bad or dangerous conditions do exist or when I am asked to do something that violates my standards. But continual rebellious resistance is unhealthy, and if I yield to its persuasion, I will cultivate a toxic environment wherein, as I seek to defeat my so-called “enemies,” I defeat God’s purposes for me.
Mere tolerance
There are times when I must put up with what I need to put up with in order to accomplish what I need to accomplish. This is a fact in my marriage, my job, my community … everywhere. Tolerance is necessary. I must tolerate the discomfort of certain things to accomplish the greater thing. For example, if I want my sick child to get well, I need to be tolerant when I must attend to him/her during the night. Or, if I want to grow my relationship with my spouse, I need to be tolerant of some of his/her minor quirks.
Mere tolerance, however, or the idea that “putting up with” my state, condition, or position, as a prevailing attitude, will have a weakening effect on me. Working long and hard merely to get a better house, to have a great weekend or to pay the bills – this is exhausting. Attending functions merely because I am expected to or because it places me in a more favourable position or because it helps me save face – this is a miserable existence.
Lingering despondency
The pressure is often there to live with what I would call a tragic sense of life. Because I heard the neighbor speak vulgar words to a man walking along the sidewalk in front of his house, I am pressed to conclude that he is a bad person and that I should keep my distance. Or, because a required task will have some challenges associated with it that could cause me significant consternation, I am compelled to believe that it probably will not work out. Or, because I think I was not born “with a silver spoon in my mouth,” I am compelled to conclude that certain privileges will not be afforded to me. I am therefore doomed to fail even before I start.
While feelings of severe discouragement, sadness or unhappiness are a part of the natural ebb and flow of my existence, lingering despondency will have a crippling effect on me.
Banal monotony
My life could be marked by a constant “sameness,” where everything is tediously unchanging. I could be living a life where my vocabulary has not varied in 20 years.
My thoughts, having been reduced to repeated idioms, are unoriginal and my ambitions lack substance or diversity. I could be dull. I could lack sharpness, resonance, influence, or passion, or all of the above. This kind of living will leave me unable to hear and interpret what people are saying. It will make me insensitive and unable to respond to changing climate, ideas, and trends. It will most certainly leave me barren.
While there are occasions where I need to do repetitive or uninteresting tasks, banal monotony, or dull sameness, as a constant mindset, will suck the life out of me.
Meagre temporality
It is possible to live a life that is completely civil: all interactions relate to people, all duties involve physical functions, all manners are adequate in courtesy and graciousness, all activities are legal, and all remedies are what natural experts like doctors, lawyers, chemists, architects, etc. can supply.
It is further possible that the total sum of everything I do could relate only to that part of my world that is temporary. I could become focused on meeting my needs through the lens of my physical world, living out its ways and being occupied with its ordinary affairs. My conversations could consist of those things that relate to earthly life alone: the weather, politics, human philosophy, shopping, the latest news, body health, personal experiences, etc.
Well, yes, I do need to be occupied with and connected to this temporal world. In fact, this is essential, especially if I am to be a priest and a prophet here. I cannot represent my world to God if I am not connected to it; nor can I speak into my world without being present in it.
However, focusing solely on things that are not meant to last, which I am calling meagre temporality, becomes a problem. It cannot define me, nor can it be my main occupation. If it does, I will have settled for a scanty and insufficient earthly existence.
Take a moment to ponder this: “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.” (Phil. 4:8)
We will continue this conversation in my next article.