The Life of Thought

"The Life of Thought" - Philippians 4:8-9 Your life is what's in your thinking. Your existence: to be born, to develop, to reproduce and to die. You are a human, that which is your own. It is the space of time that elapses from the birth of your life to your death. Life is a precious gift of God, it is sacred, it is God's creative action, and it always remains in a special relationship with the Creator, its only end. God alone is Lord of life from its beginning to its end (end, as far as it goes). Thought is that which is brought into reality by means of intellectual activity. They are products elaborated by the mind, which can appear by rational processes (reason, support something) of the intellect (understanding). The reason is that ability of the mind to make relations between ideas and to draw conclusions or form a judgment."

I. Paul bids farewell to the Philippian brethren.

A. With a piece of advice about "the life of thought."

1. The Bible teaches us how to control our thoughts.

2. Thoughts come to defeat or boast, we must be careful of both, because we must take care that our thoughts cannot bring us into our lives, and then transmit to another what is convenient for oneself.

3. The reality is that we "can" do something.

4. The Apostle Paul highlights the dangers of stubborn thinking to bring pride, negativity, unbelieving.

5. It is to welcome with our minds, giving the value it deserves to all that Paul enumerates in that list of six things, "whether something excellent or praiseworthy." (a) Let us live in "all that is true," that which is real, that which has substance (matter). Which is not a product of fantasy, nor does it sound like fiction and hypocrisy. When you are or talk to someone it is to impress, as if they were the intellectual of that moment, the greatest among all, you think that you know how they should act, with what you really are, not what you presume. (b) Be honest, righteous, a doer of your duty to others. Beware of other people's property. Be transparent when doing business. Respect your neighbor, respect women, be honest, be serious with others. (c) As much as is just, it is true that it is more difficult to be just than to be a tyrant. It is better to agree with justice and reason. It is to be according to God's law, not as you want or fancy. (d) Everything pure, morally clean in every sense, not just chastity. Free and clear from any mixture of anything else. You proceed with disinterest. It does not include any conditions. Far from sensuality. Free and clear from moral imperfections. Not accompanied by anything else. (e) All that is lovely is all that is true and good, in so far as it attracts pure affections, uncorrupted by vice. Behaves with affability, politeness, and affection toward others. It's proper you don't have to exert it, attentive, affectionate.

(f) Good name, good reputation. Speak well about how you live. (Proverbs 22:1) A good name is more precious than riches. How many times has the glitter of gold and silver cut off our eyes to what is truly valuable?

6. "Everything" entirely, wholly, or completely. It's total. It indicates the totality of the substance. Entirely accurate. Totality of elements. It is absolute because it is "everything."

7. Paul presents himself as a model saint to follow.

8. Paul tells believers to hurry, with great haste, readily to practice what they "learned" from him and "saw" in his life.

9. "Righteous" living comes from thinking righteously (it has no curves).

10. If a person's mental life is pure, his life will therefore be pure.

11. If, on the other hand, a person's mind is a source of corruption, then we can be sure that the stream that flows from it will also be dirty.

12. And we should remember that if a person thinks wrong thought, then (long enough), he will eventually carry it out.

13. Those who are faithful in following the apostle receive the promise that 'the God' of peace will be with them."

14. Here the "God of peace" is the companion of those who are saints.

15. The thought, here, is that God will draw close and lovingly into the personal experience of those whose lives are expressions of truth. It's a statement of something to make it clear. Amen.