The God Filter

Philippians 4:8 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 would very much like to think of myself as having recovered from addiction to become a spiritual giant. I have a blog about recovery after all. I must be pretty fantastic. Such thoughts reveal that I am still completely full of pride. Though I am in recovery from my drug addiction, my pride betrays that I still struggle with the gravity of my flesh with its defective thoughts, desires, and behaviors.

Paul, in today’s passage, insisted that I must continually run every thought through the filter of God. I must interrogate every impulse or desire I have to see if it is right, pure, true and honorable. If it is not, I must abandon it, turning my mind to something of God. I cannot just think of nothing. I must replace each defective thought with a pure one.

As long as I am in this flesh, I am going to be affected by its defective thinking. Just as the schizophrenic’s mind is not automatically healed when he comes to Christ, the defective thought patterns I have are not dissolved. Though I have a new spirit life, my brain is not automatically transformed. I must still choose what I do with my mind.

There are those who insist that right knowledge leads to right behavior. Right knowledge though, is not the same as right thinking. I can know pornography is wrong and still indulge in it. I can know what I should eat and still pursue that which I should not.

Paul said that to live right, I must start in my thoughts. I must daily, choose to focus my mind on that which is of God. When I find my myself dwelling on destruction, I must choose to do whatever it takes to filter those thoughts, turning my mind to God.