Worldview 101: #realityfilter
Worldview 101: #realityfilter
By Kris McFadden, Sr.
[8] 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.
One of the things I enjoy seeing at the Teen Challenge Training Center in Rehrersburg, PA (a.k.a. The Farm or God’s Mountain) is when a student finally “gets it.” What do I mean by this? As Christians we believe that before we placed our trust in the finished work of Christ, we were dead in our sins and trespasses (Eph. 2:1). We needed God to do a work and when he shows up in a student’s life, we get excited. In fact, there are few things in this world that are worth comparing to seeing a former addict come to life (I have experience here!) by the super-natural working of the Holy Spirit. A fundamental change occurs and the bondage to sin and death is broken. However, what comes next? The Apostle Paul talks about a renewal of the mind in Romans 12:1-2 and here he provides a description of what to “think about.”
I titled this “Worldview 101: #realityfilter” because a worldview is an all-encompassing vision of reality. How do we filter reality from the moment we open our eyes in the morning until the second we fall asleep? Maybe a different way to say it is, what is our daily operating system like as Christians? How are we supposed to develop something like this? This is an important topic that needs to be addressed because as a former addict, I know that my #realityfilter (as I’ve come to name it) needs to be changed, daily.
The Apostle Paul provides a list of descriptive terms that he says we need to “think about.” We have been brought into the kingdom of life and light in order to bring about God’s redemptive and restorative plans he has for the cosmos. Therefore, he is providing us with a new way to view things. Or, maybe a better way to say it is he is providing us with a redemptive way of viewing things. The point is, our operating systems need to change and in Christ we enjoy the benefits of his life, death, and resurrection in such a way that our entire sense of reality changes.
As you take a look at this verse think, “I am redeemed, how do I view_____?” He is describing God’s values in order for us to be shaped by this way of thinking. For instance, “whatever is true” reveals something about how God views truth. “Whatever is honorable” reveals something about the way in which God views honor. “Whatever is just” reveals something about the way in which God views justice and so forth. The list is not there to allow us to think about things the way we feel like. Quite frankly, when we put our own ideas in the pot of what God values as The Good, we usually mess it up. The list is there in order to re-train our minds to think in a way that reflects our status as sons and daughters of God, in Christ. Read it again, “Finally, brothers [and sisters], 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.” Remember, God defines the meaning of these terms. As we begin to think about these things, we will begin to view things the way God does, and at the end of days, months, and years, we will begin to understand and embrace what it means to have a new and redeemed #realityfilter.
