“. . . whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8
My wife Tee, the consummate volunteer, left the house early the other morning to help with a field day at a local elementary school where she also serves as a mentor for some of the young students. Soon, however, she returned home, much earlier than anticipated. When I asked why, she explained that there were too many volunteers, that her services were not needed. It seems that a group of students, about forty of them in fact, from one of the nearby high schools had shown up to help with the event. And this was not some random group of kids there to simply check off their obligatory community service box. No, these were all volunteer members of an organization called PAL (Peer Assistance and Leadership program) whose mission is “to enable young people to use their potential to make a difference in their lives, schools and communities.” (Among other things, these high school students also serve as mentors to the younger children.)
There’s an old saying that “what we think about – we bring about.” If that is true, then it seems evident that what these teens are bringing about in their actions speaks volumes in terms of what they must be thinking about – things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Where did they learn that? What turned their minds, better yet their hearts, toward such goodness? Whatever or whoever ignited such thinking, the results certainly contradict the message we consistently get from the media, that the world is going to you-know-where in a handbag. Instead, these bright, thoughtful, caring, energetic, ambitious, well-organized and well-intentioned high schoolers are proof good citizenship is alive and well, and that the world we will be passing off to this soon coming of age generation will be landing in capable hands.
As the Apostle Paul encourages us, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” For, what we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Or, as the old saying goes, “what we think about – we bring about.”