Admiring Excellence
"If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
The world we live in is full of evil. The certainty of despair can end up providing an odd comfort in the midst of so much darkness. Cynicism can creep in to guard our hearts while pride begins to cloud our minds. One of the biggest threats to Thinking Truth is the loss of hope.
Thankfully, Philippians 4:8 gives us a spiritual discipline that can help.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
So I want to share a brief story I heard lately that embodies this verse and nourished my soul with hope.
Recently there was an aide worker in an African country that was given the task of distributing about 5,000 crocs to in need children. There were plenty of ways that she could have gone about doing her job, but the way she chose to do it led to something amazing. She gave the crocs to local school teachers and told them to only give them to kids who came to class without shoes.
After the first day students with the new crocs went back to their villages where kids in their neighborhood asked them where they had gotten the new shoes. When the kids found out they were passing them out at schools, they decided to go the next day to get their own pair. This simple decision to distribute the crocs slowly through schools led to an increase in school attendance nationwide.
If we want to be serious about Thinking Truth we need to take Philippians 4:8 seriously. Is there a story you’ve heard lately that nourished your soul? Is there someone you could encourage this week by sharing that story?
Shawn