ST.
PAUL’S PRESCRIPTION FOR MENTAL HEALTH
Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or
heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be
with you. (Philippians 4:8,9)
The
Apostle Paul is probably untrained, professionally, in the science and study of
the mind whether it be psychology or psychiatry, but his exhortation written to
the Philippian Church speaks volumes when it comes to mental health. This
great Apostle has formulated a Christian thought life which should take hold of
our thinking. As Christians we believe that the apostle’s words are divinely
inspired and these could well be God’s instructions to us.
If
there is any commodity which most people seek today it is peace. We live in a
world where there is strife, trouble, and conflict. Most of us are troubled,
anxious and afraid. We struggle with fear and apprehension. Many are robbed of
much needed sleep. There is much restlessness, and the pressures of living in a
world where evil abounds and everything is uncertain and disaster or misfortune could strike any
time, give a sense of foreboding, or desperation.
The
great Apostle in his instruction to the Philippians revealed to us how to
experience the peace of God. The peace which is transcendent and elusive; which we cannot find anywhere else apart from God.
St.
Paul dares us to change the way we think and in effect the way we act. We
cannot change the circumstances that happen around us, but we can change the
way we think and react to them. There is
a saying which says we are what we think.
The
Word of God, affirms that a carnal mind cannot discern the things of the
spirit. Unless the mind is fully yielded to Christ and every thought taken
captive and made obedient to Christ, the mind would be most vulnerable to evil,
destructive, and troubled thoughts. As Christians we should take charge of our
thinking and let the mind of our Savior dwell in us richly.
In
taking charge of our thinking, St. Paul exhorts the believers to focus their
mind on seven (7) specific virtues.
The
first virtue mentioned by the Apostle, which should dwell in our minds is
Truth. What is truth? Truth is the absence of falsehood. The word true is also synonymous with
veracity, sincerity, candor, honesty, and genuineness. There is no pretension
in what is true. The fall of man and the entry of sin in this world was the
consequence of a lie, a ruse employed by the devil to deceive and to steal
God’s glory.
Scripture
confirms in no uncertain terms that the devil is the father of lies. A
Christian should be able to discern the truth from other things which only
masquerade as truth. A spirit filled life knows and is guided by the truth of God. A mind that thinks of what is true is
steadfast and confident. A mind which is not illuminated by the truth, is
troubled, weak and credulous. Like the waves of the sea it is tossed to and fro
by every wind of false notions and lies. This mind has no peace, but turmoil.
To
set our minds on the things that are true would likely result in clear,
upright, unclouded thinking, as opposed to perverted, or twisted thinking. Thinking
of what is true is right thinking. Christian apologist CS Lewis once said, “If
you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end.”
Christians
believe that the Word of God revealed in Scripture is the truth. Christians
find comfort in the Word of God which is affirmed to be trustworthy. Truth is
liberating. The mind that dwells on the truth of God, is set free from
enslavement and deception. To His
disciples Jesus said, “If you abide in
My word you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the
truth will set you free.”(John 8:31-32) If the mind is fixed on God’s truths,
worry, anxiety or fear will be replaced by faith and peace.
The
second virtue which our minds should think about are things which are honorable,
or noble.
The
Greek word used in the Bible in describing this virtue refers to honesty and
decency in transacting business, and
dealing with others. It further includes the inner and outward appearance of
respectability, and sincerity of character. This virtue is rare nowadays in the rat race of the world. People
are driven to achieve advantage, gain, possessions, power, influence or wealth,
at all costs, compromising every standard of honesty and decency. Christians should set their minds on higher
things, and to look for the good and noble things.
Christians
are not only to think of noble things but to pursue them, and uphold the cause
of honor and nobility for they are worth emulating. There is much corruption in
this world that the price of honor has been devalued to suit devious gains or
fraudulent intentions. God’s word instructs us to be fair-minded, to be sober
and blameless.
The
third virtue which the Apostle Paul urges us to think of is whatever is just.
God’s
word instructs to act justly in relation to others. God’s people are enjoined
to treat others as they would want others to treat them. (See Matthew 7:6) To
be just in our dealings is to treat others fairly and honestly. It has
something to do with right behavior. The Bible declares that God has shown to
us what is good. The Prophet Micah declared, “He hath showed thee, O man, what
is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with thy God ?”
(Micah 6:8).
A
mind that is inclined to think of
treating others justly does not seek to take unfair advantage of others. This
mind has only peace, harmony and contentment as its companions.
There
was a man described in the Bible, as a just man. His position is unique in the
sense that he was gentile soldier, a Roman Centurion, but was devoted to the
God of Israel. He prayed to the God of Israel always. He gave alms to the poor.
He was a religious man. Notably, he was described as a just man, that when he
sought out the Apostle Peter the men whom he sent to the Apostle, described him
as “Cornelius the Centurion, a just man, who fears God and has a good
reputation among all the nation of the Jews…”(Acts 10:21-22) The position of
Cornelius in the Roman army as Commander of the elite Roman troops, gave him
ample power to act oppressively even unkindly to the Jewish people under the
reign of the Roman empire. Unlike the other Roman soldiers and officers, he
established a reputation to be a just man and God fearing and this reputation
endeared him to the Jews and eventually to the Jewish Christians.
The
fourth virtue which St. Paul instructs as to set our minds on, is to think of things which are pure.
As
Christians we should fill our minds with the good, pure unadulterated truths of
God. A mind that is pure is a mind that has been illuminated by God’s spirit. It is said that we are what we think. Impure
thoughts will translate to corrupt, vile, and obscene acts. One of the biggest
challenges to us as Christians, is our frequent struggle against impure
thoughts. Unless we take every thought captive under the Lordship of Christ we
will have an uphill battle. Our Lord minces no words when He said that sin is
already committed at the level of our thinking, and not necessarily by overt
acts. (See Matthew 5:21-22;27-28). By God’s grace and strength we are given the
ability to perish impure thoughts from our minds and be transformed by the
renewing of our mind. (See Romans 12:1-2)
To
take control of our thoughts is to fight a spiritual battle. The weapons at our
disposal are God’s word, prayer, and obedience. Our Lord in His sermon on the
Mount proclaimed this glorious promise: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) It was John Piper who said that being pure
in heart has something to do with seeing God. We should call on the Lord with a
pure heart. We should run away from youthful lusts, and go after righteousness,
faith, love and peace.
The
fifth virtue is to think on whatever things are lovely.
Another
word for lovely is admirable or pleasing. It also describes what is dear to
anyone. The word used here means properly what is dear to anyone; what is
pleasing, amiable and agreeable.
The
thoughts of a Christian should marvel at and delight in pleasantness and beauty
not ugliness; kindness not heartlessness; praises not faultfinding, peace not
animosity. A mind that thinks lovely and pleasant thoughts, displaces any other
contrary negative, depressing thought.
It removes bitterness and overcomes a critical spirit. A person who exudes a lovely personality, is sure to be one we would like to be with. To think on things which are lovely means to
steer away from the ugly specter of anger, hostility, and spitefulness? It is
to appreciate and praise God for the things He declares to be good. It means to
acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from God, our Creator and
Maker.
The
sixth virtue which the St. Paul advises us
to think about is on things which are of good report.
This
is training our minds to consider what is worthy and proper for a godly person
to hear and to know. Our world is becoming increasingly noisy. We hear
different voices, sounds, ideas, competing for our attention. The great Apostle
cautions us to discern what is worth listening. The Gospel which is the good
news should capture the thoughts of our hearts, not the worldly or ungodly
voices which deceive and mislead. This world is literally littered with junk
which pollutes the mind. We open the day’s newspapers, or listen to television newscasts,
and we hear all the bad, sad, and fearful reports pouring in. In my office I
have a friend who would greet me and ask me how is my day. Then I would ask him
if there is any good news, and his response is a standard pat answer, “All bad
news in the papers, the only good news is in the Bible.” Then he would give me
a high five, and go about whistling.
To
focus our minds on things which are of good report means eschewing every form of gossip, rumor,
uncouth jokes, insults, even all sorts of nonsense and irreverence which could
defile a person. Instead, the mind should reflect upon the good works of faith,
reported from the life and experiences of God’s people.
In
the account of the Apostle Paul, he wrote that Timothy had brought good news
about the faith and love of the Thessalonian Christians, and the pleasant
memories they had. (See 1 Thessalonians 3:6) This great apostle knew how
inspiring and encouraging the good report that he heard from God’s people. We
too should welcome in our thoughts things which are of good report.
After
pointing out the six virtues which should control our minds, the Apostle
finally concluded his exhortation by
giving this summation: “if there is any
virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy” we should think on these things.
St.
Paul concludes his exhortation by saying we should add to the six qualities
which he mentioned other godly virtues which glorify and praise God. These
virtues should occupy and shape the minds of God’s people.
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