Mind Sunglasses

Read

Philippians 4:8–9 (KJV) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do; and the God of peace shall be with you.

What it is speaking to me:

I am not a big sunglasses guy. I usually only wear them when driving in sunny weather so I don’t get too squinty on road trips. Otherwise, I find that they make me sleepy in the afternoon because of the darkened vision, and there is something about having my view of the real world filtered that bothers me. So, I don’t wear them often.

The easy part about sunglasses is that it’s simple to take them on or off. It’s not so easy to do the same with what gets put in front of our eyes. Social media, world news, neighborhood forums, national politics, celebrity gossip, binge-watching, and everything else under the sun constantly barrage our eyes. And what comes to our eyes takes up real estate in our minds.

We can’t always control what is put in front of us (though we should take a good look at that too—pun intended!) but we can control how much we think about it. These verses encourage us to think about certain types of things and, by implication, what not to. For example, news corporations make the most money by selling anger and fear, so they focus their "journalism" on eliciting those two emotions from us. When we meditate on those things, it can lead to anger, fear, anxiety, doubt, frustration, and despair. That doesn’t sound like fun to me.

But the list Paul gives the church at Philippi sounds kind of nice, doesn’t it? Even now, as I read it, it puts a small smile on my face. Maybe that is the point. On top of that, how does his exhortation end? With a wonderful promise for us and for our minds: the promise of the presence of the Prince of Peace.

Yes, that previous sentence was avoidably alliterative. Wait, so was that one. Now I’m just having fun. This is what happens when you meditate on the things of God, it’s a good time!

What is it saying to you?

How do you police what you look at?

What types of things that you consume visually take up your mental space?

What do you dwell on?

What are we going to do about it?

Apply this verse as a screen for your consumption of news, entertainment, or social media today.

Dwell on any attribute, action, or character trait of God, and enjoy the result.