Finally, brothers, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there is anything of virtue/excellence, and if there is any worthy of praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)When I read this, I have often been shamefully dismissive of it. There is a cynical part of my mind which sees it as wishful thinking, or a sort of determined naivety. The more open-minded voice inside me recognizes and acknowledges the value -- and then wants credit merely for speaking up against the cynicism, without actually doing what we are here encouraged to do.
- What is true? The sun came up this morning.
- What is honorable? Those who stand by their convictions with modesty and reason.
- What is just? The Day when hatred will cease.
- What is pure? The hope for a spark of joy.
- What is lovely? The out-of-season lily that is still blooming under the crepe myrtle.
- What has a good reputation? I had to think really hard about this one. I'm going with: Green vegetables.
- Is there anything of virtue/excellence (older translation: any virtue)? Joy.
- Is there anything worthy of praise? The skill of a certain pianist that I have in mind.
Update 12/14/2016: Dr Platypus has added a list of his own, which is truly worth a read.
5 comments:
I love this and intend to steal it shamelessly!
I love your user name. It's very similar to one of my favorite authors (Anonymous), not to be confused with the hacker collective of the same name.
Take care & God bless
WF
I don't know why the Blogger robots didn't recognize me. It's your old friend Darrell aka Dr. Platypus. :-)
Food for thought. Thanks.
Hi Dr. Platypus! Thank you for your own list. I really felt edified reading your own list. I wish the blogs still did memes; I think I'd grow a lot reading other peoples' thoughts on that.
Hi Martin: Thank you for the encouragement.
Take care & God bless
Anne / WF
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