A Man and His Mind – Accentuate the Positive!
Philippians 4:8
When Bob approached me about preparing the message for this week because he would be out of town, I was – naturally – a bit nervous at the prospect. Then he told me that I’d be speaking on “the mind of a man”, and assured me that it shouldn’t take any more than about five minutes, so I quickly agreed.
Yes, I recycled that joke from Bob, and yes, I’ve been telling it all week
When we talk about the mind, we’re ultimately talking about thoughts and ideas – and thoughts and ideas have great power. Nations have started as ideas – Rome, the Soviet Union, the United States. Monuments have started as ideas – the Great Wall of China, Mount Rushmore, the Hoover Dam. Accomplishments have started as ideas – the Panama Canal, the moon landing, the trans-continental railroad. From the Tower of Babel to the Golden Gate Bridge, from apartheid to Emancipation, ideas have launched cultures, technologies, expeditions, and peace.
And ideas have launched war.
During the early part of the last century, a short, funny-looking, unimposing man by the name of Adolph Hitler had some perfectly insane ideas about how things should be run. Those ideas launched World War II, and led to the deaths of nearly 53-million people worldwide.
Ideas ARE powerful – and the ideas and mental attitudes we have shape who we are and how we react to the circumstances around us. Which is why during World War II the United States Office of War Information ran a massive campaign aimed at keeping morale high, ideas positive, and winning attitudes strong. Radio ads, newspaper ads, and posters reminded staunch Americans that victory was in our reach, inspired them to ration and scrimp joyfully on the home front, and demanded of them their best. That the enemy could achieve victory over us was a notion openly and frequently denounced - because we were strong, we would fight hard to the bitter end, and we were on the side of the Lord.
Yes, ideas played a huge part in helping the allies achieve victory over the axis, and the entertainment industry figured heavily in the effort. From USO tours to Shirley Temple movies to Spike Jones blowing raspberries in a song about “Der Feuhrer’s Face”, entertainers tried as hard as anyone to make sure that allied minds and attitudes remained positive. In my opinion, one of the more memorable songs from the period was a little ditty released by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters that goes a little something like this:
You've got to accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative - Don't mess with Mister In-Between
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum, Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium - Liable to walk upon the scene
Now, you didn’t think that a music director would be able to go the whole message without talking about music, did you?
Of course to us, this song obviously extols the virtues of maintaining a positive outlook in the gloomiest of situations, holding on to affirmative thoughts lest turmoil and confusion reign free. To servicemen serving during World War II, however, this song took on a whole other meaning. You see, to prevent sensitive information or military secrets being accidentally (or purposefully) disclosed, the letters sent home were read first by military censors, commonly referred to as “in-betweens” or “Mr. In-Between.” Because the effort to keep morale high on the war front and the home-front was so vital, soldiers writing home were constantly reminded to keep their news positive – they were not to “mess with Mr. In-Between” by writing negative letters that could weaken home-front morale if delivered, or strengthen enemy resolve if intercepted.
You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, and don’t mess with Mr. In-Between! If you keep your mind focused on the positive, your attitude will be positive and great things will happen.
This echoes the words that Paul has for us today in his letter to the Philippians – we’ll be looking specifically at Philippians Chapter 4, verse 8. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians while a prisoner of the Romans. Throughout the entire letter, Paul’s focus is on the joy that we can experience as believers – describing the joy and strength he found in Christ despite the hardships he had to endure. [Illustration: personal experiences in studying Philippians] In Philippians 4:8 he writes:
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. (NKJV)
The New Living Translation translates Paul’s words thus:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (NLT)
“Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative.”
So what does Paul mean by this? We’ve all heard of “the power of positive thinking”, been encouraged to keep our chins up, keep our fingers crossed, hope against hope, and watch for the light at the end of the tunnel. Certainly positive thinking is more beneficial than negative thinking, and people with positive attitudes are much more pleasant to be around than those who are constantly negative. On a first glance at Philippians 4:8, Paul seems to be simply encouraging us to adopt a positive mental attitude – but this is only part of his aim. Paul is reminding us that ideas are powerful – that the thoughts and attitudes we have shape who we are and how we react to the circumstances around us. He is encouraging us as Christians to think in a Christlike way, because our thinking matters.
Paul knew it and we know it: Human beings have a tendency to dwell on the negative. [Illustration: The Matrix – “the first matrix was designed to be a perfect human world…”] We’d rather pass on a rumor than the truth – how many urban legends did you get forwarded to YOUR email this week? We focus on impurity and are fascinated by the abnormal, rather than dwelling on the lovely and the pure – can you imagine Hollywood producing a television program called “Peace Factor”? Or “Faithful Housewives”? And if you were paying attention to the last Presidential election… well, let’s face it – if you’ve paid attention to any election ever you will have noticed that we’re more likely to tell a story about someone’s bad reputation than speak of what is of good report. Our minds have a tendency to jump straight to thoughts of gloom and doom.
Consider these three college students heading home from a full day of classes.
The first – an engineering student – thought to himself, “I’m tired and thirsty – I gotta have some coffee!”
The second – a computer programming student – thought, “I’m tired and thirsty – I gotta have a cola!”
The third – a medical student – thought to himself, “I’m tired and thirsty – I gotta have diabetes!”
Negative thinking affects our health, our relationships, our jobs, our families, even our finances (how many times have you gone on a shopping spree to help pick yourself up?) How do we overcome this tendency toward negative thinking, and avoid its effects? Look again at Philippians 4:8 –
Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (NLT)
Does this mean that we ignore hardships in our lives – that we just keep a stiff upper lip, grin and bear it? I don’t believe this is what Paul is saying at all. We need to ACKNOWLEDGE the difficulties in our lives, but take care that we do not DWELL on them. After all, Paul wrote this letter while chained up in a Roman prison, still finding reason to proclaim the joy of the Lord! He tells us in Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Does this mean we’re always happy? Of course not – and in saying so, I’m reminded of the dance ministry team that Kari led several years ago. One evening, tired and not wanting to practice anymore, one of the dancers complained, “I don’t want to do this – and doesn’t Jesus want me to be happy?” Jesus never said that we’d be happy every day of our lives. But we can be always filled with the joy of the Lord!
Again, how?
Well, not to just throw out a cliché to you, but I believe Paul is telling us to “always look on the bright side of life!” You may be going through some tough circumstances right now - but are you focusing on the bad situation, or are you focusing on how God is working through it for your good? Two-and-a-half years ago I unexpectedly lost my job, and got rejection after rejection as I looked for work for nearly four months. God used that time to build my faith in and dependence on Him, and to help us become better stewards of the resources we have. In His time, He gave me a job working for a Christian employer who is generous and joyful, where I can grow personally and professionally. Three months ago, my car broke down – I went to start it after work and discovered my Chevy Cavalier had turned into a Chevy Nova since the time I had parked it (no va means “doesn’t go” in Spanish). It was a situation that was certainly frustrating, and that could have really made me dwell on the negative. However, God had made sure that I made it all the way to work that day, He made sure that it wasn’t on a day that I had to be home for a meeting after work, and He had me working for an employer who had just purchased a company van and was generous enough to offer to let me drive it with free gas until my car was fixed. Just a week-and-a-half ago, Kari – my wife – found out that her job is going to be eliminated as of the end of this month. It’s an uncertain time, especially since we now have a mortgage to pay. But just a few months ago, God gave us a completely unexpected opportunity to refinance our house, saving several hundred dollars each month, right around the same time that He led my employer to give a 20% raise in pay. God is good, and we’re filled with the faith that He’ll pull us through, and that He has great things to do and teach us in our lives.
Is your health failing? Are your finances tight? Are you stuck at a job that you dislike? Put on your “faith goggles” and work consciously to maintain a God-perspective on the situation. Paul was chained up in a Roman prison, where when he wasn’t sleeping on a cold stone floor, he was probably beaten and served rotten food. Yet in Philippians 1:12-14 he was able to write:
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
So now what? How do we keep our minds focused on the affirmative, the positive? Well, since we’re talking about the mind, it’s only right that we talk philosophy: The great philosopher Immanuel Kant said “to BE is to DO.” The great philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said “to DO is to BE.” And the great philosopher Frank Sinatra said “DO BE DO BE DO”. Kidding aside, there’s truth to be found in each of their perspectives:
TO BE:
o BE filled with trust in Jesus Christ. Death and the grave have no power over those who place their trust in Christ.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in this body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. (Phil 1:21-22)
o BE-lieve that God is in control, that He loves you, and that He wants the best for you
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19)
Make a list of ways God has blessed you, to remind you of His faithfulness when you are faced with doubt.
o BE-come a blessing to others, by encouraging them in their faith.
I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now (Phil 1:3-4)
o BE confident.
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6)
o BE-have. Be constantly aware of keeping your thoughts and actions Christlike.
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Phil 1:27)
TO DO:
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.. (Phil 2:14-15)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6-7)
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the peace of God will be with you. (Phil 4:9)
DO BE DO BE DO:
Sing praises to the Lord, and sing them constantly in your mind and heart! Paul in his letter to the Philippians promotes an attitude of rejoicing over and over again:
Because of this I will rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice… (Phil 1:18)
I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. (Phil 2:17-18)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil 4:4)
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! (Phil 3:1)
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 5:19-20)
Surround yourself with worship – listen to worshipful music, hang worshipful art on your walls, read scripture. Let the truth of God’s word stick to your heart and mind throughout the week.
[segue into “Blessed Be Your Name”]