Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Philippians 4:8 The Message) 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 4:9 NIV)

In this beautiful passage (combining two translations), Paul connects two things. Thinking about things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy will lead us to peace because we will have the presence of the God of peace. This is so great, and so hard.

Our culture immerses us in things that are indecent, wrong, tainted, unworthy of our attention, crude, and shameful. Any look at social media or cable channels will confirm this. Yes, there are some things worthy of our attention and not harmful, but much of what we are offered on a routine basis is the opposite of what Paul commands us to focus on. No wonder so many find themselves angry, anxious, depressed, and cynical in today’s culture. The news is tainted. The political culture is tainted. Entertainment is tainted. And social media is tainted. Yet, we are immersed in all of them. And they are not without their effect.

Look at how angry and uncivil we have become toward one another when we have varying opinions, whether it be on political issues, vaccines, or other cultural issues. And I am speaking about believers. It seems like we’re all ginned up for a fight and we all must tread carefully in conversations with one another because people are on edge. From what I can tell, most of us believe our country is going in the wrong direction. To put it in simplistic terms, we feel it’s either lurching way to the right or way to the left. Things are desperate and we need to take action to make the urgent course correction.

For all these reasons then, it’s so hard to change our focal points from the bad stuff to the good stuff as Paul commands. It’s like trying to keep your clothes clean when you’re painting. If you’re like me, you tend to get paint all over you because you’re caught up in the painting and not focused on trying to avoid getting it on you.

Staying clean while painting takes great focus and intentionality, and even then, you’re likely to still to get paint on you. The same is true in dealing with the toxicity of our culture. We must be intentional in changing our focal points from all that is wrong to those things that are good, but it won’t be easy. Yet, there is a wonderful reason to do this—to truly feel the presence of God and his peace.

The devil, as Jesus reminds us, seeks “to steal, kill, and destroy.” He seeks to steal our joy, kill our hope, and destroy our peace. He is a wrecker of lives. And he does his horrid work by turning our focus away from God and all that is good and onto all that is bad or is a threat. Today, media of all kinds are his means to infuse his poison into our lives. Changing our focal points is a way to resist his attempted influence. As James says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:8-9) We come nearer to God when our focal points are on the goodness that flows from him.

What might this look like in our everyday lives? Spend time focused on praising God (for his attributes—mercy, love, gentleness, kindness, etc.) and thanking him for all the blessings you have received from his hands (a roof over your head, food on your table, clothes to wear, a car to drive, salvation, etc.) Intentionally seek out news and stories that are uplifting and reveal the Lord’s work in the world. There are websites that focus on such things, like Faithpot, bittersweetmonthly, Voice of the Martyrs, and The Pour Over, which gives a daily summation of news stories from a Christian perspective and without the vitriol. Talk with fellow believers about what God IS doing in the world rather than all that is wrong in the world. Get out and serve alongside others in meeting needs of your community. As I tried to teach all my students over the years, there is great joy in serving others.

The devil is hard at work in our churches and in our lives trying to do everything he can to steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life the Lord has for us. Let’s resist him with all the strength we have. Let’s be intentional to focus on what is true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. By doing so, we will light bearers in a very dark world.

© Jim Musser 2022 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011 unless indicated otherwise.