There’s nothing worse than being the only one who doesn’t know a secret. I can think back to times in my childhood where I would be with a group of other kids who all knew something that was, I’m sure of, great importance, but they weren’t allowed to tell. They had made an oath… or even more seriously, a pinky promise.
We like knowing the secrets! Brands and restaurants have secret ingredients which people take a great amount of time trying to reverse engineer and discover. I think about KFC and their top-secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.
Together, we have been discovering the steps of caring for our souls. At times, this can feel like a quest to discover a top-secret recipe, but it’s not actually that complicated.
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a church at a place called Philippi. At the time, Paul was imprisoned, but despite that, he encouraged the church to rejoice and be grateful in everything.
I believe Paul was giving us the secret ingredient to a healthy soul. It’s not something revelatory. It’s not earth-shattering. As a matter of fact, its simplicity is likely why it is so often overlooked in this discussion.
“Secret ingredients” are often common things, but they are used regularly and in specific amounts. To care for our souls, we need healthy amounts of gratitude and focus. You could say we care for our souls when we make gratitude a regular habit and choose to give our attention to what really matters.
First, we need to be people who say thanks.
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” - Philippians 4:4-6
Gratitude is so overlooked when it comes to healthy spiritual lives.
“Many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed.” Wrote Joshua Brown and Joel Wong in an article in Greater Good Magazine entitled “How Gratitude Changes Your Brain”.
Dr. Susan Pierce Thompson, a cognitive scientist and New York Times best-selling author, says, “Gratitude Can Help Lessen Feelings of Depression”.
Dr. Thompson’s research has found that people who take time to recite three things they are thankful for each day see considerable improvements in depression and overall happiness in as little as a few weeks. “If there were a drug that did that, whoever patented that drug would be rich,” Thompson says, “Gratitude is very powerful.”
Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, “give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18 CSB)
For many of us, the truth is we are so quick to complain. Like, “I know I have a $1000 phone, but mine doesn’t fold in half.” Or, “I have a 55-inch TV, but I could have a 75-inch TV.” “Sure, my family loves me, but they really can be annoying.”
Yes, it sounds silly to say, but how many of us live in that headspace all the time?
When was the last time you really sat down and listed the things you are grateful for? Paul was writing to the church while chained to a Roman centurion, but he doesn’t complain about this!
A healthy soul requires a practice of gratitude. And it will take practice! Just like improving at other things in our lives takes repetition and correction, living a life of gratitude will require us practicing.
The second “secret” to a healthy soul is that we stay focused on the right things.
“8 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 moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
The best advice I ever got when I started driving was when my dad told me “whatever you are looking at is where the car will go”. This is also true for our lives, what we dwell on will impact our soul!
No, we shouldn’t ignore the injustice or bad things that are going on in the world, but also that can’t be our only focus.
Paul tells the church to focus on things that are true. Think how much the world would change if we removed so much of the gossip and slander that is based on “well I heard…”. Our lives should focus on the truth. Beginning with Jesus who is the Truth but extending beyond that to what we know to be true.
Things that are honorable, the good things going on in the world. People who are living honorable lives. Noble things should have our attention.
Whatever things are just. We should promote justice. Justice reflects the character of God. Let’s focus on and celebrate God’s righteousness on display in the world.
Pure things. Those things which haven’t been tainted or defiled by the sickness of sin in our culture. Things that are beautiful and delightful. This can be as simple as the beauty of creation or the purity of God-honoring friendship.
Things that are lovely. Things that are pleasant and good. What excites us? What draws us in and sparks creativity in us?
Whatever is commendable or of a good report. Let us focus on the good things happening in the world. What are the ways God is moving?
"Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse." (Philippians 4:8 MSG)
Having a healthy soul is so overlooked. It is also SO incredibly necessary in our world and culture today. The secret isn’t really a secret. Let us be people of gratitude who have eyes to see the wonderful ways God is at work in the world around us.
