Philippians 4:1-9

 

Philippians 4:1-9 (NRSV)

 ¹ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

² I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³ Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

⁸ 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. ⁹ 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.

 

            Philippians 4:1-9 contain advice Paul offers to congregations of all times and places in living the Christian life. in the process, he reminds readers that Christians live their lives in the Lord. He will offer advice on a personal conflict, aphorisms, and even a guiding principle, that will lead Christian life to be a genuinely happy one. 

            In one way to understand the outline of this letter, Philippians 4:1 closes an account of warnings against errors begun in 3:1b that is part of Letter C, if one accepts the composite nature of the canonical text. ^4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, Paul indicates his deep affection, whom I love and long for, as with homesickness, my joy and crown, the victory wreath placed on the winner of an athletic competition, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. Paul writes this letter from prison, forcibly kept far away from those who offered him a spiritual home.

Philippians 4:2-9 is part of a section of Philippians that contains encouragements, appreciations, and greetings that concludes in verse 23.  

In Philippians 4: 2-3, the theme is Paul making an appeal to two women for unity. Sometimes it seems as if the church is drowning in a sea of trivialities. Personality conflicts, petty disputes, and small-minded people sometimes consume us. This is the only time in the letter that a specific cause of disunity is addressed. One could argue with Paul regarding it whether it was appropriate of him to mention these two persons in a letter intended for reading in the congregation. Assuming these women were present, did they walk out? At the same time, Paul is skillful in the way he brings up the issue. Its brevity is particularly important to consider, because Paul is not concerned with “pointing fingers,” but rather, he puts the question of unity in a broader, theological context. ²I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind (φρονεῖν, 1:7; 2:2, 5; 3:15, 19; 4:2,10, as well as in a similar way in II Corinthians 13:11, connoting an attitude — a state of mind — more than a logical or rational process) in the Lord. Paul urges Euodia and Syntyche to adopt the attitude or state of mind he urged in 2:2, where the whole church is to have the same mind as that of Christ. They ought to share in the humility and self-emptying attitude that Christ had. In that passage, Paul praises Christ’s humble state of mind and resonates in the mind of a listener who had just heard it. His sadness at their disagreement is clear. He does not expect agreement or consensus about their dispute, beneficial thought that might be, but more importantly they are to adopt a Christlike attitude. He writes to them as though they are on equal footing, thus, refusing to place one above the other. As we step back from these two verses, considering a contemporary issue, we can see that women were important in the churches Paul superintended. He considered them important in the missionary enterprise that captured his apostolic calling.[1] These women were some of the most visible and active leaders in the church. In Acts 16:14-15, the home of Lydia becomes the first meeting place for the congregation in Philippi. ³Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, and in a similar way on equal footing, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life, even if history passes them by.As often in his letters, his concern is for reconciliation and unity in the Lord.

Philippians 4:4-9 is an appeal to prayer and virtue.[2] Paul outlines the attitudinal characteristics that should be evident in the lives of those whose faith is in Christ. It reads like a combination of benediction and an exhortation to cheerfulness. It gives me an opportunity to reflect upon a genuinely happy life. 

In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul offers some aphorisms. Aphorisms are short, pithy, memorable sayings intended to provide some guidance in life. Proverbs is full of them, but we find them scattered throughout the Bible. We also find them scattered throughout life. They can look at life from varying perspectives. Thus, “A rolling stone gathers no moss” suggests that we are to keep moving forward. Yet, “Look before you leap,” suggests pausing before you take the next step. Both are good bits of wisdom applied properly to specific situations. I came across a few more.

- Practice moderation in all things.

- Do not sweat the small stuff.

- Life is too short to hold a grudge.

- Do not ask others to do what you are not willing to do yourself.

- Give a day's work for a day's pay.

- Do what is right; two wrongs do not make a right.

- Pick your battles.

 

In this case, aphorisms become brief exhortations at the close of this letter. They are reminders of truths they already know. 

First, he wants them to rejoice. ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. These were not the best of times for Paul. He was in jail for his faith.[3]  These were not the best of times for the Philippian church. The local Roman government authorities persecuted them for their faith. 

I want to take the occasion of this brief admonition to reflect upon the notion of happiness and joy in life. If you are a Christian, you might feel some embarrassment at being happy. Paul is encouraging us toward a joyful, happy approach to life. What do you think of happiness? Some very well-regarded people have thought deeply about it. Thomas Jefferson thought about it enough to put it in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

 

In the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Christopher Gardner has an interesting reflection on the preamble: 

It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?

 

The discussion of happiness began in ancient Greece. At the web site pursuit-of-happiness.org, a section is on the history of happiness, and an important part of that history is Aristotle. The Greek word that most people translate as "happiness" is eudaimonia, and, like most translations from ancient languages, this can be misleading. The main trouble is that we often conceive of happiness (especially in modern America)  as a subjective state of mind, as when one says one is happy when one is enjoying a cool beer on a hot day, or is out "having fun" with one's friends. For Aristotle, however, happiness is an end or goal that encompasses the totality of one's life. It is not something that one can gain or lose in a few hours, like pleasurable sensations. It is more like the ultimate value of your life as lived up to this moment, measuring how well you have lived up to your full potential as a human being. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum used the term “human flourishing” to communicate this notion of happiness. For this reason, one cannot really make any pronouncements about whether one has lived a happy life until it is over, just as we would not say of a football game that it was a "great game" at halftime (indeed we know of many such games that turn out to be blowouts or duds). For the same reason we cannot say that children are happy, any more than we can say that an acorn is a tree, for they have not yet realized the potential for a flourishing human. As Aristotle says, "For as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy."[4]In conclusion, according to Aristotle, what is happiness?

- Happiness is the ultimate end and purpose of human existence.

- Happiness is not pleasure, nor is it virtue. It is the exercise of virtue.

- Happiness arrives at the end of one’s life. Hence it is a goal and not a temporary state.

- Happiness is the perfection of human nature. Since man is a rational animal, human happiness depends on the exercise of his reason. 

- Happiness depends on acquiring a moral character, where one displays the virtues of courage, generosity, justice, friendship and citizenship in one's life. These virtues involve striking a balance or "mean" between an excess and a deficiency.

- Happiness requires intellectual contemplation, for this is the ultimate realization of our rational capacities.

 

Is being happy a worthy goal? Most of us want to be happy, but, especially if we are Christians, we may have a suspicion that happiness is something a little too self-centered to be a divinely blessed pursuit.

I think of sermons I have heard, and probably preached, perhaps based on this text from Philippians, where one delineates carefully the difference between happiness and joy. Joy, we say, is a true satisfaction in the Christian life -- a kind of gladness in the Lord that is not dependent on fluctuating feelings or the circumstances of our life. Paul even says joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Happiness, on the other hand, we say, is a condition tied to our circumstances and feelings, which can come and go, and is thus an unimportant objective. At least, that is how we in the church -- and, to some extent, in the broader culture -- usually spell it out. 

However, perhaps we have not read our Bibles carefully, because the Scriptures, far from being down on happiness, tout it. In fact, the word often translated in our English Bibles as "blessed" can just as correctly be -- and sometimes is -- translated as "happy." (Compare Psalm 119:1 in the NRSV and NIV; compare Matthew 5:3 in the NRSV and CEB.) For centuries, church theologians, including such notables as Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, wrote in praise of happiness, considering it a blessing from God on the righteous.

What happened to happiness? The Protestant Reformation happened, for one thing. The early reformers were wary of scholasticism, so they were not too keen on the teachings of Aquinas. Even more, the theology of the Reformation started not with creation but with the fall of humankind. Ellen Charry, professor of historical and systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, writes, "Protestants became preoccupied with finding a solution to the paralyzing fear produced by their belief in God's justifiable wrath about human sinfulness." Consequently, what happiness the reformers sought was relief from anxiety before God, rather than life satisfaction.

Another happiness buzzkill was the rise in the 17th century of a viewpoint sometimes called psychological egoism. It was not so much a theological notion as a secular one, but it affected churches nonetheless. Psychological egoism is that condition in which humans are completely selfish and work primarily for their own advantage, even if social niceties cover it up. The church agreed, but some theologians of the time said that the way to deal with this human trait was to repudiate self-love and, in fact, become self-loathing. In such a context, working for personal happiness became something Christians learned to despise. If happiness happened as a byproduct of doing good for others, fine. However, happiness was not to be a goal of its own.

One person who went against this trend was John Wesley. In the 18th century, some theologians -- notably the Anglican Joseph Butler and the Methodist John Wesley -- began promoting happiness as a legitimate goal for Christians. Wesley understood the Bible to say that the way to be happy was to be holy. Butler contributed to the conversation about happiness because he said that we could find pleasure in doing the things that the Christian faith calls us to do. He said that doing the right thing is self-love, and that self-love is, in fact, obedience to God. According to these theologians, happiness is a feeling that comes from doing what pleases God. Wesley researcher Sarah Heaner Lancaster expresses Wesley's thought by saying that when our lives fit the way God us to be, we are happy in the sense that we have a life one can evaluate as good and upright, we are personally and deeply satisfied and we lead a life suited for God. 

The Old Testament Hebrew word rendered in English as happiness/blessedness is asher. The New Testament Greek word for the same is makarios. Their meanings are similar, but the reason Bible translators cannot agree to use either happy or blessed is that there is no single English word that fully translates the Hebrew and Greek words. In order for us to understand what the Bible means by these words, we have to think of "happy" (the feeling of satisfaction) and "blessed" (God's favor) together. When God evaluates what we are doing as good, and thus favors us, we are in the best position to feel satisfied with our life. Certainly, the psalmist knew that. The Psalms opens with these words: "Happy [Blessed] are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD ..." (emphasis added). 

So no, there is nothing wrong with being happy. The pursuit of happiness can even be a godly activity. However, to know happiness in its fullness, we need to remember why Paul can rejoice in all things.

Second, he encourages them toward gentleness.[5] ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The word refers to kindness or magnanimity. In II Corinthians 10:1, Christ is gentle. In I Timothy 3:3, bishops are to be gentle. In Titus 3:2, he is to encourage the people to be gentle and courteous to all. In James 3:17, gentleness is one of the characteristics of the wisdom from above. In I Peter 3:17, masters are to be gentle. Such behavior contrasts with violence, quarrelsomeness, and harshness. Gentleness is non-retaliatory.  It promotes peace. It suggests flexibility in the face of conflict. It even suggests a deliberate strategy of adaptability and accommodation that the situation of this congregation may demand. The persecution from their local government is an opportunity for the congregation to show gentleness! Many of us could think of other strategies amid persecution, but that is the advice of Paul. Such a mindset is behind the introduction to the Christ hymn in 2:6-11, where he encourages the congregation toward compassion and tenderness, adopting the same attitude toward life as Christ had. Such a spirit of accommodation during a violent situation is always a risk. Other philosophical schools also emphasized this virtue. Such a virtue formed community solidarity. Paul proclaimed a new people, a new nation formed by Jesus Christ in which there were no longer Jew nor Greek, free or slave, male and female (see Galatians 3:28). The practice of adaptability was essential for the formation of a community made up of people quite used to making just such distinctions.[6]

Joachim Gnilka says this word means to yield or give way. Paul does not recommend that these Christians go into the pagan and polytheistic culture, dominated by Roman politics and military power, in order to rail against it and condemning it. Such actions would have immediately established a power-based relationship with the empire. It would also alienate the young church from its neighbors and culture. Instead, Paul recommends a program of accommodation and adjusting as much as possible. He wanted them to join wherever they could.

The next short statement does not qualify as an aphorism. It becomes a guiding principle for life. The Lord is near (ὁ Κύριος ἐγγύς). We might try understanding the phrase as an ontological statement. God is always as near as it takes to drop to your knees in prayer. The nearness of God is not temporal but eternal, and it is precisely through prayer that one recognizes God as near. Of course, with Jesus and Paul, we must always seriously consider the eschatological interpretation. The Lord Jesus would then be near in the sense that the final consummation of human history is near. However, in this context, I would suggest the ontological statement is closer to what Paul means. The Lord is near to you now, even if you do not feel it or believe it. Throughout this letter, due to his imprisonment in Rome, he is aware that he could die. He approaches this possibility with calm, a reaction he can have because he feels and believes in the closeness of the Lord. Based upon this nearness, therefore, he can offer some short and memorable pieces of advices for his readers.

We live in a therapeutic climate. At one level, we can read the advice of Paul as addressing such a climate. Yet, his advice is a movement against the non-religious aspect of the secular climate of our culture. People do not hunger for personal salvation. Rather, they want the feeling, understood as the illusion of the moment, of personal well-being, health, and psychic security.[7]

Paul wants something deeper to happen to us and in us than an alteration of our feelings for the moment. He believes we can make a deeper change in our lives if we open ourselves to a new relationship with the Infinite and Eternal God. Regardless of the stress that circumstances bring, we can be at peace. I think of the 17th-century devotional classic titled The Practice of the Presence of God, written by a lay monk named Nicholas Herman but known in the monastery as Brother Lawrence. He received the assignment to work in the monastery's kitchen, and while there, he decided to try to pay attention to God's presence even while going about his duties. He says he became increasingly able to do this. He eventually found the time of business did not differ from the time of prayer. He found this true in the noise and clatter of his kitchen. Other people call for different circumstances. He enjoys God in his daily tasks with greater tranquility, as if he were upon his knees to receive the sacrament. 

Guiding principles are a bit broader than an aphorism. They intend to provide guidance broadly and deeply in the life of a person. Paul suggests that in anxious times, in our worrying moments, we should return to the Timeless, to the things that count. Most of us have received some guiding principles in our lives. 

- Be responsible.

- Respect others.

- Value family.

- When you make a mistake, apologize.

- Support charitable work.

 

In Colin Powell's book, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership (Harper, 2012), the four-star general and former secretary of state shares the 13 rules he lives by and tells how he learned them. They include: 

- It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning. 

- Get mad, then get over it.

- Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

- It can be done.

- Be careful what you choose: You may get it.

- Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.

- You can't make someone else's decisions. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.

- Check small things.

- Share credit.

- Remain calm. Be kind.

- Have a vision. Be demanding.

- Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers. 

- Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

 

I came across the story of two sisters.  One was always a pessimist.  The other was always an optimist.  As they grew up, they spent a lot of time together.  They were married and lived close to one another.  Their husbands died, and they moved in to live together.  Finally, the two of them died and went to the gates of heaven.  After they were present for a week, they were eating together for lunch.  The optimist said: "You have been a pessimist all your life.  You have spent a week here in heaven, and it has been perfect.  Surely, there is nothing for you to be negative about now."  Her sister thought about it for a moment.  "Well, we would have been here three years sooner if you hadn't made us eat all that oat bran."  

            Some people will find something negative in any situation.  It can turn one into a negative, depressing person and affect one's whole outlook on life.  A news program, "20/20" had a report on people who were still active, even though they reached the age of 100.  The number one factor among this special age group in America is that they can focus on the positive in life.[8]  So, many other people come to the place of being thankful in difficult situations.  I think of colonists who settled this country.  By 1616 about 1,600 colonists came from England to what was for them the new world.  Only 350 were still alive just a few years later.  The Pilgrims would come from England in 1620.  After their first winter, one half of the company died.  Yet, William Bradford, the governor of the Plymouth Colony, issued a decree in 1623 establishing Thursday, the third year of the Pilgrims being in America, as the time of Thanksgiving.  Despite the suffering endured by the people, they were willing to give thanks.

Thus, based upon the fact that the Lord is always near, and despite how impractical it seems, third, ⁶ Do not worry about anything (Μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε). We might think of worry or anxiety as lack of trust, based upon Matthew 6:25-34. We might even think of Paul as offering a practical commentary on these words of Jesus. The logic is that since the Lord is near, they do not need to worry about anything. He will use the same word in a positive sense of concern for others in I Corinthians 12:25, Philippians 2:20, and II Corinthians 11:28, and even concern for the things of the Lord in I Corinthians 7:32-34. However, the type of worry or anxiety to which Paul refers to here is not a positive thing. Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it does not get you very far.[9] Worry can function like an addiction. We are familiar with worry, so it feels safer than real life does. If we worry, we must think that at some level the bad things we imagine will not happen. For example, we have already given ourselves the pain of failure through our worry, so we might escape such pain in real life. 

I worry about the passage of time.  It seems like it goes so quickly.  Before I go any further, I should tell you that in my early 60s all the stuff about seniors and AARP bothered me some. I find myself far too often saying things like “for someone my age.” Of course, I have survived.  But still, I worry.  I worry about how time keeps slipping away.  I worry that life is too busy.  Sometimes, I keep it that way.  You see, if I do that, I might not have to spend time with myself and maybe must learn or change.  Sometimes, circumstances drive me toward worry. I worry because, I confess, I want more.  It seems like I have so much.  I have a beautiful home and family.  I have had the privilege of being part of several wonderful congregations and people. I have a good retirement. l have nice cars and a good life.  Yet, there is always more I could have, like more clothes, a better computer, and other electronic gadgets which would make life more interesting, if not easier. You see how it works?  Worry crowds out all the reasons I could have for praising and giving thanks.  I can focus on these kinds of things, and I can get myself into a depression.  That is the downward spiral in life.  

Meher Baba (1894–1969) was a mystic from India who would communicate something like this to his followers in the West: "Do your best. Then, don’t worry; be happy in My love. I will help you.” Bobby McFerrin saw the quote and wrote a song that in 1988 that became the first acappella song to make it to number one. One verse catches theme:

Now there, is this song I wrote

I hope you learned it note for note

Like good little children

Don't worry, be happy

Listen to what I say

In your life expect some trouble

When you worry you make it double

Don't worry, be happy, be happy now

 

The song is cute and memorable. It has some good advice, although Paul wants to direct us to something a bit deeper than this.

Fourth, the contrasting behavior to worry is to pray: but in everything by prayer (προσευχῇ= prayer in general) and supplication (δεήσει = sense of need, making request), which too often roll easily from our lips, but also pray with thanksgiving (εὐχαριστίας = thanksgiving, showing that gratitude is the starting point and context of all Christian prayer[10]) let your requests (αἰτήματα = requests or specific petitions), which also flows so easily, be made known to God. He refers to prayer in general, to the specific type of prayer that arises out of a sense of need and makes a request of God, and to the type of prayer that offers gratitude. In fact, the way Paul words himself, we could say that all proper Christian prayer has the starting point and context of gratitude.[11] Gratitude is to move through all our prayers. We can pray in everything precisely because the Lord is near.

Fifth, once we entrust the matters that worry us to God in prayer, ⁷ the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Such peace flows from confident well-being. Given the situation of Paul in prison, such peace does not arise out of a change of circumstance, but from the intimate connection with the Infinite and Eternal God that we have established through our prayers. The peace of which Paul writes arises out of our personal faith relationship with God.

Just think. Paul exhorts all of us to do all these things, based upon the simple notion that the Lord is near. Keep it simple, as we often hear.

Lucy asked Linus one day, "what’s the purpose of life?'  Linus, who always has his blanket and sucks his thumb, held out his blanket.  I suppose us, too, can cling to our own little insecurities, and believe that is what life is all about.  Then she went to Charlie Brown, asked him what the purpose of life was.  He responded, "Don't smoke, be kind, always be prompt, smile a lot, eat sensibly, avoid cavities, avoid too much sun ...” The list would go on.  Again, it would be easy for us to have a long list of do's and don'ts about Christian life.  Then Lucy went to Schroeder, who is always playing his piano, and asked him what the purpose of life was.  His answer was, "Beethoven!  Beethoven is it, clear and simple."  We, too, may look to other people to provide our purpose in life.  Finally, she turned to the stars, and looked up into a beautiful sky, and she asked them what the purpose of life was.  She waits in silence.  There is no answer.  Finally, she shakes her fist, and says, "Dumb stars.” She leaves.  

I want to say to Lucy, wait.  The answer will not come from stars.  The answer will come out of the silence, as you listen to what is within you and around you.  The Lord is embracing you, right here and right now. Yes, the Lord is indeed near. Learn to trust that. If you do, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In Philippians 4:8-9, Paul makes an appeal for virtue. He will emphasize a close connection in Christian life between thought and action, doctrine and practice. We can think of this list as part of the various lists of virtues Paul will present in his letters. He wants his readers to strive to make these virtues part of their lives. Such lists were part of the first century moral philosopher’s method of teaching. 

⁸ Finally, beloved, whatever is true (ἀληθῆ, II Corinthians 6:8 its opposite is deception, it refers to that which is unconcealed). As Churchill put it, people occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. Paul will go on to list other virtues. Whatever is honorable (σεμνά, venerable, dignified, deeply respected), whatever is just (δίκαια, right, equitable, innocent, holy), whatever is pure (ἁγνά, clean, innocent, modest, perfect), whatever is pleasing (προσφιλῆ, lovely, acceptable, grateful, friendly towards, worthy of personal affection, dearly prized, worth the effort to have and embrace), whatever is commendable (εὔφημα, of good report, reputable, admirable, spoken well of, regarded highly, spoken of in a kindly spirit, laudable, reputable), if there is any excellence (ἀρετὴ, moral excellence, goodness, act of graciousness, virtue, virtuous course of thought, feeling, or and action, uprightness, an eminent quality) and if there is anything worthy of praise (ἔπαινος, commendation, approval), think about these things. Paul seems to think that human beings generally have it in them to think and act in these ways. Paul does not make the following connection directly, but he is pointing us in the direction of acknowledging that human beings continue to exist as bearers of the image of God. Acknowledging that even in a perfect setting, as Adam and Eve had, humanity will turn away from God, human life still bears the marks of the image of God. Thus, discipleship and Christian life are not separate from good thinking and behavior acknowledged in the diverse cultures of the world. Acknowledging that human beings bear the image of God in every culture is a way of saying that every culture bears that image in a unique way. Of course, such a view also acknowledges that every culture turns away from God in its unique way as well. The result is that Paul saw some overlap with the moral philosophy of the day. He might even have thought of Proverbs 23:7, which suggested that as people think in their hearts, so they are in their lives. If we focus on thinking, we are focusing upon that to which our minds give attention. If we give it attention, we will at least consider doing it. If we do not give it attention, we will dismiss it. If we can give our attention to it continually, we will believe. If we believe, we will do.[12] I would urge prayerful reflection and meditation on such virtues, asking the simple question of whether they are growing in our lives.

Paul can conclude such an exhortation by saying ⁹ 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. Maybe Paul is aware that the most significant trouble with guiding principles is how easy it is to forget them, or at least forget to put them into practice when we need them. The circumstances of life can so bog us down and overwhelm us that our hard-won bits of wisdom do not spring to mind. Such is the challenge of aphorisms and guiding principles, which is also, why we need such simple, memorable reminders of the persons God wants us to be.

---

[1] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 390.

[2] Verses 4-7 are part of what some scholars call “Letter B” and verses 8-9 are part of “letter C,” for those who accept that canonical Philippians is a composite letter. 

[3] Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from a prison cell.  His greatest desire, to continue traveling and preaching the gospel in new and distant places, was apparently a lost cause.  He sat old and ill in a jail, only able to write letters of encouragement and counsel to those he had already reached.  

[4] (Nicomachean Ethics, 1098a18). 

[5] The adjective the NRSV translates as “gentleness” here relates to the verb that translates into English as “to yield, to give way, to draw back, to retire.” (Joachim Gnilka, Der Philipperbrief 3rd edition [Herder: Freiburg, 1980], 169).

[6] (See Clarence E. Glad, Paul and Philodemus: Adaptability in Epicurean and Early Christian Psychagogy, vol. 81 in Supplements to Novum Testamentum [Leiden and New York: Brill, 1995], 1-14.)

[7] Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations (Norton, 1991), 7.

[8] ("20/20", November 22, 1992)

[9] Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home: A Novel (Simon & Schuster, 2011), 322.

[10] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 207.

[11] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 207.

[12] Nelson Price, How to Find Out Who You Are.