Think about what is noble. Noble thinking is thoughts showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals. Noble things are worth thinking about, but some things aren’t worth thinking about. Our brains work to understand the world all day long. The world is full of sources of information. We watch YouTube, TikTok, and television and scroll through social media. Our brain works to collate it all. Bad and negative information is taken in alongside good and positive information. Paul tells us we should carefully choose what we fill our thoughts with.
Garbage In, Garbage out
If a famous chef is forced to use rotten food, the resulting food will reflect the source in the final taste. Thoughts are impacted in much the same way. Consuming content that is unhealthy will lead to unhealthy thoughts. On the other hand, consuming healthy, Godly, and life-affirming content will lead to healthy thoughts. Psalm 1 explains that the one who meditates on God’s law day and night is blessed. Do you take time to make sure that your thoughts are healthy?
Some thoughts are true, but they should not be entertained. Paul knows that thoughts have many different aspects. Thoughts can be true but not have a shred of nobleness. It is true that at some point in your life, you failed. You may think to yourself, “I am a failure.” Is it true? In the strictest sense, yes. But is it healthy? No. Paul reminds us to think not just true thoughts but noble thoughts. You might have failed, but failure does not have to define you. God offers grace and forgiveness. He restores the broken. He calls you His child.
Your brains are muscles being trained
The brain is trained like any other muscle. If you want to learn to play the guitar, your fingers memorize how to form chords. You create a muscle memory through practice. Your thoughts are trained in the same way. Thoughts that you think over and over again become easier to file in the brain. And the brain looks for confirmation in the world and the media you consume. Have you ever noticed that when you buy a new car, you tend to see that car everywhere? You can’t remember seeing it before, but once you own that car, you notice when you see others driving it. Your brain looks for connections and confirmation in the world around you.
What we think about and how we think about sets our expectations. Our expectations will determine how we evaluate circumstances. And expectations solidify into our beliefs. We test our expectations and build our understanding of the world as we confirm or disprove them. Our beliefs become the lens through which we view the world. If the lens is distorted, smudged, or even the wrong power, our vision will be blurry. We might even mistake blurry vision for crystal-clear clarity.
An Example
I can’t begin to explain the week I have experienced. Closed doors on a couple of new opportunities. The continuation of a rough relationship at work. My car is dead, and I don’t know how to fix it. Then I got my wife’s car stuck in a KFC drive-thru after not realizing it wasn’t opened anyway. My wife caught a virus and was sick all weekend, and I wasn’t at home to help. She is still dealing with physical pain related to two surgeries that we were hoping would relieve the pain. I know it’s not exactly Job-like, but it sometimes feels that way. Can my life get any more broken and cursed?
Let me spin my week a different way.
The Same, But Different
I can’t begin to explain the week I just experienced. I can work from home when it gets cold and it is hard to drive to work. We are blessed to have two cars, so even though we had to sacrifice, my wife and I can still get around when one doesn’t work. I got to spend a weekend with 28 middle school kids and help them hear about how much God loves them. I prayed over one specifically because she missed her dad. My wife was sick, but friends could stop by and bring needed supplies when I wasn’t available. After the weekend, I could take a day off of work, meet with a fellow believer, and start a journey of discipleship. Can my life get any more blessed?
Finding the Right Lens
Are both versions of my week true? Yes. But the lens through which I look at the world determines what I believe about my week. That belief will determine my feelings, attitude, and approach for the following days. Paul commands us to take our thoughts captive. Our brain may not default to the correct lens. Capture your thoughts and train your brain. Think about that, which is true but also noble. Paul does this in writing his letters to his churches. He sat writing, likely listening to his Roman guard breathe in and out, and proclaimed, “The Gospel is not chained.” Or, in other parts, despite facing setbacks and trials, he proudly reminds us, “No weapon formed against us shall prosper – we are more than conquerors.” Paul’s faith and belief in God allowed him to see the world with clarity.
Noble thoughts lead to a Noble life
Our thoughts shape our faith. Our faith shapes how we live. How we live shapes the world around us. When you learn to capture your thoughts and train your brain to focus on what is noble and true, you will learn another way to experience the resurrection in the present. God’s action changes everything. God is at work, even if you cannot see it. God’s kingdom is advanced by people who work to capture every thought. Those people can determine when the lens shows clear truth or if smudges or dirt obscures the vision.
Capturing noble thoughts doesn’t change the truth that I had a rough week. But what it does change is me. I want to live a life that reflects my faith and belief in Jesus. What I spend my time thinking about and how I think about those things will determine the way in which I follow Jesus. Think about these different mindsets and how they shape someone’s life:
- Seeing God as an uncaring other who possibly could but won’t intervene in my favor shapes how I live out relationships.
- If I think of God as an abundant giver of gifts, then I will mirror that in my desire to be like Jesus.
- If you see God as full of judgment and punishment, your life will mirror that. You might even convince yourself that you deserve it when life doesn’t work like you wanted it to.
What difference would it make in your life if you captured those thoughts and instead considered what was noble?
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