Just thinking...

"whatsoever things are just"

Was I just thinking or was I thinking just (ly) ???

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines just this way:
"Conformed to truth; exact; proper; accurate; as just thoughts; just expressions; just images or representations; a just description; a just inference."

Accurate thoughts, thoughts that are not exaggerated one way or the other... is that the way I think? Well, if the truth be told, my thoughts can easily be influenced toward injustice.

Proverbs 18:13 tells us, "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him."

Unfortunately I can tell you from experience that this is true. I am not always careful to investigate things before I form an opinion. This careless habit has caused me much shame and regret. The beauty of this learning opportunity is that it can teach me to be more just in the future if I am willing to be taught by the experience.

How can I be more just in my thought life?
~Extend grace - give others the benefit of the doubt (The Lord knows we all need grace!)
~Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative - think in positive terms first as a regular habit
~Consider the facts objectively - step back and look at the situation with an open mind
~Seek God's insight - ask God for wisdom to see things His way
~Recognize my own sinfulness - I am not perfect and will fail, miserably at times, putting me "in their shoes" quite literally
~Be humble- admit I'm not God, I don't know all the facts much less the heart of the person or people involved, only God knows that
~Pray - be a part of the solution and take the person or situation to the throne of grace- Prayer is the key that unlocks all the other actions above.

Just thinking is
Unbiased,
Shaped by grace, and
Truthful

Right Thinking

Philippians 4:8
"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."

Recently I have been pondering (again) how to change the way I think. This verse in Philippians is one that I refer to often because it's a clear "how-to" verse. When I'm struggling I can say it to myself quickly as a instant check-up on my thoughts. Studying the words of a passage like this can be very helpful to me, making it very practical to apply so I took the time to do that. Here is what I learned using The Complete Word Study New Testament by Spiros Zodhiates.

true: one who cannot lie, true in character
noble: one who owes his modesty to that higher citizenship which is also his, being one who inspires not only respect but reverence and worship; due appreciation of such things as produce a noble seriousness
just: conformable to right; one who acts conformably to justice and right without any deficiency or failure
pure: purity in all things; used to express freedom from defilements or impurities
lovely: friendly towards, acceptable
good report: well spoken of, winning, attractive
virtue: excellency; being pleasing to God; the excellency of God being revealed in the work of salvation
praise worthy: commendable thing
meditate: reason, occupy oneself with reasonings and calculations; careful reflection

Here's my version of this verse to remind me of what my thoughts are to be about:

Finally, brothers in Christ (according to the work of our Savior and our love thereby),
~whatever things are true in character - not lies,
~whatever things inspire not only respect but reverence, worship, and noble seriousness, ~whatever things that are conformable to justice and right without any deficiency or failure, ~whatever expresses freedom from defilement or impurity,
~whatever is friendly, acceptable, and winsome,
~whatever things are well spoken of and attractive,
~if there is anything excellent and pleasing to God (e.g. the glorious gospel),
~if there be anything commendable, worthy of praise,
~occupy yourself with careful reflection and reasoning regarding these things.

There's a challenge if I ever saw one just in the first quality! Do you ever find yourself believing lies about yourself? I know I have stumbled down that road getting a few bumps and bruises along the way. Satan is the father of lies and when we believe those lies we are thinking in his territory. We are not thinking right.

May I challenge you (as well as myself) to reflect on where your thought life dwells? Does it dwell within the boundaries of the verse above or does it dwell elsewhere? Let's think on truth today and everyday... the Word of God is truth. God's word will spring that trap of lies and put your feet back on the freeing path of truth.

Please drop me a comment - I would love to hear how God has worked or is still working in your life in this area.

Love, G