ST. PAUL’S PRESCRIPTION FOR MENTAL HEALTH

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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A LESSON FROM THE PHILOSOPHER

A LESSON FROM THE PHILOSOPHER

In my younger years I studied under a Professor whom the students called the “Philosopher”. He spoke English with a trace of  British accent,  he had more hair on his face than his head,  he taught using the ancient Socratic method,  lectured on heavy and weighty  subjects like ethics and morality. But unlike the other mentors, he stood out to be the most dogmatic  which did not make him any less popular since his reputation as a bigot had drawn more curiosity in a campus well known to be steep in secular humanistic liberalism. 

The Professor believes that as there are immutable laws of nature which govern the Universe, there are likewise immutable moral laws which should govern human conduct. A simple enough postulate, which led to one incident in class I could not forget.

One day a  classmate, stood for permission to comment on the professor’s thesis. The Professor, noticeably eccentric in class could be gentle or harsh like a tyrant, depending on which side of the bed he arose. I  anticipated the Professor was likely to stand, the student, down, but instead he gave permission  to speak.  

The class became very quiet.

The student began, “Sir, permit me to express a contrary thought. The concept of right and wrong, good and bad, even the morality of one’s conduct  should not be confined to any rigid  moral absolutes.  History shows that there were acts or practices  considered as taboo,  immoral, or even wrong, but now acceptable in the modern age. Women now wear pants, men now wear their hair long, modern  literary works of fiction now contain expletives, and sexually explicit language,  works of art portray  a woman’s body in all her naked glory.  Different moral truths hold for different people. A  particular  conduct may be good for one person but bad for another, good in a particular cultural setting but unacceptable in another. Standards of right and wrong are mere products of time and culture. That is how I see it, Sir”.

I felt the air of tension as the Professor glared at the young man who dared disagree with his strongly held beliefs. I could have heard a pin drop.

The Professor turned his gaze at the class, and said, “Very well said,” and turning again to the student, asked, “What is your name  young man?”

Our classmate replied, “I’m Tadeos Tiglawan, Sir,” apparently pleased.

The Professor took the rostrum and addressed the class, “Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Tiglawan here, is- I appreciate his boldness to freely speak his mind- what you may call a moral relativist. He believes that the standard of right and wrong is subjective, and therefore what I may hold  and believe as right, or wrong, is only so far as it concerns me.”

I thought Tadeos  was off the hook. The class awaited the Professor’s long winded lecture, in defense of objective moral truths, which he so passionately espoused. But we were in for a surprise.

The Professor looked at Tadeos and exclaimed, “ Mr. Tiglawan, pick up your things and leave. I have no more use for you. You will not pass in this subject. I have resolved to give you a failing grade of 5. That’s it. Go out.!”

Tadeos  his face turning red in rage, shaking, answered, “You have no right to fail me in this class, what you are doing is unreasonably wrong, unfair and unjust!”

“Says who, Mr. Tiglawan, you?” the Professor with a sneer replied, “Did I hear you say I am wrong, unfair and unjust? How can you judge me to be wrong, or unjust? Didn’t you say earlier that a particular conduct may be good for one but not for another? Well I believe it is entirely good for me to flunk you in this class, that’s how I see it, that’s how I feel . I can’t help it. You may feel bad about it but I can’t help you. Since it absolutely  makes no sense to you to consider any objective standard of moral truth, what is your basis in saying that what I am doing is wrong? Because you feel bad about it so it is wrong? I consider it good to dispense with your presence in this class, if you feel bad about it, then it is unfortunate, I happen to be the Professor and you are not!”

And turning his attention to the class the Professor blurted out,  “Did you get the point?”

This lesson had stayed with me all these years. I became a Christian, and I realized the Christian faith is basically dogmatic, but Christians could hardly be described as narrow minded.  The secular humanism of the modern age is largely unsympathetic to religious beliefs, and frowns upon dogmatism. It is fashionable to be called open or broadminded. The secular world calls an open mind a great mind. “Nowadays the really great mind is thought to be both broad and open-broad enough to absorb every fresh idea which is presented to it, and open enough to go on doing so, ad infinitum,” says John Stott.

If the humanistic idea of open mindedness  means not being able to shut it down for the sake of openness, then what spineless pathetic creatures we would become, never reaching any firm or settled conclusions or belief. Christ aptly describes this type of open mindedness as “children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.(Ephesians 4:14).

“An open mind,” muses Samuel Butler, “is all very well in its way, but it ought not to be so open that there is no keeping anything in or out of it. It should be capable of shutting its doors sometimes, or it may be found a little draughty.”   

“We need to distinguish between the tolerant mind and the tolerant spirit,” reminds  John Stott. “Tolerant in spirit a Christian should always be” he says, “loving, understanding, forgiving and forbearing others, making allowances for them, and giving them the benefit of the doubt… but,” he asked, “how can we be tolerant in mind of what God has plainly revealed to be either evil or erroneous?”