Philippians 4:8 - "Feed Your Mind on Beauty, Not Bitterness"

"Whatever things are lovely...""Whatever things are of good report..." The word lovely means that which is pleasing, gracious, winsome,and worthy of love. It describes whatever draws us toward God's goodnessinstead of pulling us toward sin. Thephrase "of good report" speaks of that which is admirable,commendable, reputable, and worthy of being spoken well of. Together thesewords teach us an important lesson. The Christian life is not merely aboutavoiding evil. It is also about delighting in what is beautiful. Sometimesbelievers become so focused on everything that is wrong with the world thatthey forget to enjoy everything that God has made right. Think about thebeautiful gifts God has placed all around us.  Thebeauty of His creation. A sunrise that reminds us of His faithfulness. Thesound of children laughing. A godly marriage that reflects Christ's love. Afaithful church family. The testimony of a missionary. The faithfulness of anelderly saint who has walked with God for decades. The joy of seeing someonetrust Christ as Savior. These are the kinds of things Paul says should occupyour minds. Davidoften filled his heart by meditating on God's works. Psalm 19 begins, "Theheavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handywork." Creationitself points us to the greatness of our Creator. Every beautiful flower. Everymountain. Every ocean wave. Every star in the night sky reminds us that our Godis both powerful and good. No wonder David could say in Psalm 27:4,"One thing have I desired of the LORD... that I may behold the beauty ofthe LORD."  Thinkabout that phrase. The beauty of the Lord. The loveliest person in all theuniverse is the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything about Him is beautiful. Hiscompassion. His humility. His holiness. His mercy. His grace. His truth. Hislove. The more we meditate on Christ, the more our own lives begin to reflectHis beauty. This also affects the way we listen to others and speak aboutothers. Paulsays to think on things that are of good report. Our world thrives on bad news.Every day the headlines remind us of crime, disasters, conflict, corruption,and tragedy. Social media often magnifies criticism, arguments, gossip, andoutrage. If we're not careful, we can become so absorbed with everything thatis wrong that we forget all that God is doing that is right. That doesn't meanwe ignore reality. It means we refuse to let negativity become the atmospherein which our minds continually live. Paulis teaching us to intentionally notice God's grace. Notice answered prayer.Notice faithful servants. Notice transformed lives. Notice opportunities toencourage someone. Notice evidences of God's goodness. Hebrews 10:24 says, "Andlet us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works."We should become students of encouragement. Instead of looking for reasons tocriticize, look for reasons to give thanks. Instead of dwelling on failures,rejoice in God's victories. Instead of repeating gossip, repeat God'sfaithfulness.  Someoneonce said, "The bee can find nectar while the fly can only findgarbage." Both live in the same world. They simply look for differentthings. The same is true spiritually. We can spend our lives looking foreverything that is wrong. Or we can train our minds to recognize thefingerprints of God's grace all around us. That doesn't mean life is alwayseasy. Remember where Paul was when he wrote these words. He was in prison. Yethis mind was not imprisoned. His circumstances did not determine his outlookbecause his thoughts were centered on Christ. Today,ask the Lord to help you see His goodness. Notice His blessings. Meditate onHis beauty. Encourage someone with words that build them up instead of tearthem down. When we fill our minds with what is lovely and of good report, wediscover that joy begins to replace bitterness, gratitude replaces complaining,and peace replaces discouragement.