How Joyful People ThinkSample

Whatever Is Lovely

The New Revised Standard Bible translates Philippians 4:8 as, “Whatever is pleasing . . . think about these things.” While “lovely,” used by the English Standard Version and most other translations is probably more technically correct (because such versions translate the root phileo directly as a form of “love”), “pleasing” gets more to the idea of our having a mindset that moves us toward what makes us happy and gives us a profound sense of gratification and pleasure. 

Let’s be honest: we Christians don’t tend to talk about our lives in this way. We usually leave pleasure to the hedonists in our culture, the celebrities who flaunt their pursuit of pleasure to the extent of decadence. You probably don’t have to think too long before some of the people who represent this approach to life come to mind.

We Christians, on the other hand, tend to focus our thoughts on concepts such as sacrifice, surrender, faithfulness, devotion, and discipline. Though these things are certainly a large part of what it means to follow Jesus, we need to honor what Philippians 4:8 puts in front of us. We must not miss the Bible’s call here to include the love of pleasure in our daily thoughts. Pleasure is one of the fuels that God uses to keep our lives going and growing. Whether we realize it or not, our lives are surrounded by pleasure and to some degree run on pleasure, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

As we apply this truly amazing call to think about the things and the people we love who bring us pleasure, we must remember that the search for pleasure must take place in legitimate places. Otherwise, we become just like the world around us—deep-seated in sin, finding pleasure in illegitimate places. Doing so may bring the sensation of pleasure in the moment, but in the long run it will harm our souls. 

But when we look for pleasure in legitimate places, we find health and joy. This is the main point of Philippians 4:8 when it urges us to fix our thoughts on whatever is lovely. Like a sports car that runs well on high-octane gas but will quickly peter out on watered-down, low-octane fuel, we need to be fed daily from God’s sources that will allow us to run our lives well. 

What brings you godly pleasure this week?