“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).
It’s generally thought that Paul had abstract thought in mind (right thinking) and that may have been his intention. I wonder, however, given the context of the book, if Paul is not encouraging us to think about the “things” that we observe in others.
Rather than fixing our minds on the flaws we see in our brothers and sisters would it not be better to think about those attitudes and actions that are “true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; the things to praise, not the things to curse?—the goodness that we see.
Rather than see, think and speak evil of others, would it not be better to fill our minds with these “things.”
David Roper
