Think on these things

The way you think about a situation will in a lot of cases decide the outcome even before you act on the situation. If you think the best of a situation then chances are a decent outcome will happen. If on the other hand, you expect the worse, you have already failed

On the wall of the famous golfer Arnold Palmer’s office a plaque hung that said,

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win but think you can't,

It's almost certain you won't.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

Arnold Palmer had the right idea before it became popular.

Today, positive thinking is a popular subject. As I browse through social media posts I see a lot of people who try to take a positive spin on life. In a way it is good to be positive and optimistic.

In this life there are plenty of disappointments. I have met a lot of people who get so down about every little thing that they can be difficult to be around. I was once one of those people myself.

My depression

I myself went through an extended period where my negative thinking almost cost me my life.

May 2012 through June 2013 was easily the worst time of my entire life. My wife of 28 years told me in May 2012 that she was having an affair and wanted to leave.

Now I know a lot of people go through divorce, but the concept was foreign to me.

I was a dedicated Christian, a pastor for the last 5 years. My brother was a pastor. My sister’s husband was a pastor. Divorce was just not in my family’s vocabulary.

I had used my marriage as an example of what a marriage should be like to those I counselled. Now everything seemed like a lie.

I felt abandoned not only by my wife, but by God, who I was serving.

I set out to save my marriage at all costs. My wife gave me a list of things she wanted and I did everything on the list. My congregation knew something was wrong but I couldn’t bring myself to the point of telling them.

From May 2012 until November of that year I attempted to save the marriage but at the end of November she left anyway.

I was a broken man. I left the ministry, stopped reading my Bible and started behaving in a way I am ashamed of now.

I didn’t realize it at the time but I was in a deep state of depression. By the end of February that depression led to a heart attack.

(Actually while in the hospital I was told I had one previously. I remember having the same pains the previous August shortly after our Anniversary when my wife told me she didn’t love me and to stop trying to save the marriage.)

Then I had another heart attack during the first week of May.

Then a blood clot that went from my ankle to my waist.

I later read about something called a broken heart syndrome. That is what I had. I was so fixated on my loss that my broken heart was literally breaking my heart.

Laying in the hospital in June of 2013 with my leg 3 times larger than normal due to the clot, I realized I needed to change, to start over. I needed to let my past life go and start a second life and that is what I did.

I started over. I found love again. The Lord brought an amazing woman in my life who taught me to always look on the positive side of every situation.

I slowly returned to studying God’s Word like I use to and came to realize that God used all the difficulty I went through to prepare me to be a help to others who might need my encouragement, starting with this blog.

Be positive, not self-centered

Sharing my story on social media has been one way I have tried to be an inspiration to others. Like others I try to promote positive thinking. One thing I’ve noticed though is some miss the point of positive thinking.

To some, positive thinking is almost equal to making yourself number one. Beware of the danger of having a self-centered, narcissistic viewpoint.

Yes, you should take pride in your accomplishments, but don’t look at yourself as the only thing that is important. The world is bigger than just me, myself and I.

If your idea of positive thinking is boosting yourself and tearing down anyone who may have hurt you in the past, you are not going to find the happiness and satisfaction which you are looking to find.

Of course you are going to have insensitive people criticize you wrongly but you shouldn’t let that affect you. At the same time you should not ignore others only to build yourself up. Being part of this world means serving others as much as taking care of yourself.

The Bible has been teaching positive thinking for 2000 years

It has been my experience that the Bible has the every principle one needs to guide them through their life.

In one simple verse, the Bible gives us a guide to effective positive thinking. It is found in Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, 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.

At the end of this verse it says “think on these things.” The word think means to ‘consider, reckon or reason’. It is also translated as ‘meditate or dwell on’. The idea is that these are the things that we should focus on with our mind.

In this one verse are eight principles to follow. If you stick to these eight things each time you have a thought, it would prevent a lot of the negative thinking you put in your minds.

The result of considering this list each time various topics come to mind will lead you to a better emotional state by dropping the things that you shouldn’t be thinking about and only sticking to what you should be thinking.

Let’s take a look at each principle.

1. Think about what is true – Truth is what is real.

You would think that this is a simple thing to consider but my experience has proven it is not. I have met many people in my life who when dealing with others let their imagination get the better of them.

For example, say you plan a meeting and want to go over a few things and ask each person to prepare something for the meeting time. When the meeting happens there is one there who didn’t prepare at all. They make an apology saying that their day was just too hectic.

I have known those who led the meeting who would afterwards come to me and complain that that person probably wasn’t busy, just too lazy or too unorganized and they were not going to be invited back to the next meeting because they were sure that person was just not going to be reliable.

The leader had no evidence. It was only their opinion. Instead of talking to the other person and finding out what really happened they made a whole scenario up in their mind until they were convinced it was true.

Unfortunately I have met several people who operate this way all the time. What they are convinced is true may not be true at all and in the long run they are the ones who suffer because of it.

2. Think about what is honorable

The original Greek word used in this verse gives the idea of something to be dignified or venerated due to its impressiveness or magnificence whether it is a person, character or deed.

This applies to looking to someone who has accomplished something inspirational. When it comes to something like fitness, when you see someone who has lost a lot of weight and gotten themselves in shape – that is inspiring. That is someone you want to follow and learn from.

I was inspired by others I found on Instagram who had lost a lot of weight and gotten in shape before I did. Seeing they could do it inspired me to do it as well.

3. Think about what is just

The word just also means righteous or right. The biblical idea of being just is that a person is following the commands of God. Being a just or righteous person is someone whose thoughts, emotions and actions conform to the will of God.

Of course this is easier to say than it is to do. In this world of short cuts and temptations we tend to focus on the easy way or the way that is most beneficial to one’s self than to do the right thing. That is why it is important to always keep in mind that we should seek to do what is right.

In the long run, doing what is right rather than what is easy is the best thing to do, for yourself and for all those around you.

Focus your mind on the right thing to do. When your mind focuses on the right things, then any temptation, whatever it is can be overcome by your will.

4. Think about what is pure

The idea with purity is simply think on those things which is clean; clean thoughts, clean words, and clean actions. Get your mind out of the gutter and don’t let your mouth sound like a sewer. A dirty mind and a dirty mouth have nothing in common with thinking positively.

Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

If you have an honest and good heart you will speak with good and kind words, but if your heart is not good then your words and actions will betray you.

The best way to guard your heart is to keep your mind on that which is pure.

5. Think about what is lovely

This means to think about those things which are pleasing and acceptable. In the original Greek the word means to be ‘friendly towards’ another. The concept here is to think about those things which build up friendship with others. Instead of thinking about what you dislike about someone else, think about what is good about the other person.

A lot of marriages probably could benefit from this type of thinking.

Also, in this day and age with all that is going on in the world we need some loveliness. We need to learn to be friendlier towards one another. We should be peacemakers, not troublemakers.

The apostle Paul in Romans 12:18 wrote, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

If you treat others with dignity and kindness because that is the way you think, then it will make a difference in your life and the life of others.

6. Think about what is commendable

Some translations translates commendable as having a ‘good report’. In other words we should be thinking about those things that are proven over time and experience to be good and beneficial to everyone. Things that don’t carry any suspicions of not being altogether good for all.

When a topic comes up in your mind, consider whether it is something that has a good reputation or whether it is something positive.

If the subject matter is negative in any way, then don’t waste your time on it. It doesn’t take too much thought on something to tell whether it is something reputable or worthy of your time.

Just a thought, but most of us probably shouldn’t watch the news much since most of the time all they care to show is the negative side of this world because that is what gets them ratings.

7. Think about what is excellent

In other translations of this verse it says “if there is any virtue”. Virtue is moral goodness. The opposite of virtue is vice. If something that comes to mind is good and wholesome, then it is virtuous. If it doesn’t have these qualities then don’t spend your time with it.

Many things in life can but looked at either way, it all depends on the way we think. In physical fitness you can see someone of the opposite sex who has taken care of their body and admire the beauty they have created. Beauty is virtuous. On the other hand, if you look at the same person with lust it becomes vice. You make the choice as to whether you are thinking correctly.

8. Think about what is worthy of praise

Lastly we are to think about what is worthy of praise. This is similar to number 6 which is what is commendable. It almost seems as if Paul is repeating himself to make every effort to emphasis the importance to only focus on those things that are good and positive. If something is worthy of praise than it is worthy to spend our time thinking about it.

Too much of our lives can be spent thinking about things that will only bring us down emotionally. Negative thoughts and feeling hurt us. It will also take a toll on our bodies.

Don’t waste your time on those things. Instead, focus on the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise.

I found this quote, though I’m not sure who actually said it, but it sums up what I have been trying to say pretty well. It goes like this:

Watch your thoughts; they become words

Watch your words; they become actions

Watch your actions; they become habits

Watch your habits; they become character

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny

Until next time, Have a wonderful and blessed day.