By David ReayTuesday 6 Feb 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Philippians 4:8
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (NLT)
Many people nowadays are famous for being famous. Their talents and skills are negligible; their personal morality is doubtful; their contribution to the good of others is questionable. Becoming a star in a reality TV show, or designing your own handbag range is the pinnacle of ambition for those seduced by such ‘fame’.
Our present culture is obsessed with trivia, celebrities, and a surplus of groups who demand their rights without reference to responsibilities. So it is hard to locate real goodness. We can occasionally witness a false sort of righteousness that expresses itself in a sort of sour sense of superiority, a prim and proper insistence that the rules I keep must be kept by all.
But there are many instances of people going about their tasks with love and grace. They just don’t hit the headlines. Goodness and righteousness are not newsworthy, apart from the occasional well publicised charitable event. General moral excellence doesn’t excite much interest in our world that is either driven by trivia or overwhelmed with danger.
We can do our bit to remedy this by following the teaching of Paul who urged us to focus on what really matters. We need to fight the tendency to worship contemporary hollow heroes and instead give honour to those ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things in the name of Jesus.
Blessings
David Reay