Philippians 4:4-9
Where Is Your Head?

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

New Revised Standard Version

This is one of the richest scripture passages in all of Paul's writings, and it comes at the end of the letter to the church at Philippi. Paul must realize he has to hurry up and send the letter out with the courier, because in these verses, he gives us a rapid-fire lesson on how to focus our brains in service of Christ.

I'm not very subtle using the word "brains," am I? We so often talk about "giving our hearts" to Jesus and we know "where our heart is will be our treasure," so we may be led to think of Christianity as all about emotion. When we do so, we misunderstand the scriptures and we stunt our Christian growth.

Just a quick lesson in Ancient World Biology: when the scriptures were written, people believed that we felt with our stomachs, and we thought and reasoned with our hearts. Our mind, the seat of our intellect, was in the chest, not in the head. (We had no concept of what the brain did!)

Paul is clear in this passage that God wants us to focus our thinking. If we are actively thinking about Godly things -- those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, beautiful -- then we are open to God's leading and God's peace. Our thoughts lead to our actions, and focusing our thinking on God strenghtens our walk with God.

Paul said the same idea a different way in the verse before. If our thoughts are focused on our worries, we are not open to God. We are like Peter, walking on the water to meet Jesus, but looking down at the waves instead of looking at the Master of the sea. When we offer up our worries to God in prayer -- and thanksgiving -- God blesses us with peace!

So, give your heart to God, and give your head as well!