Phil 4:8- Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Phil 4:9- Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9
So far this year I have been focusing on the first four “whatevers” of Philippians 4:8- whatever is true, noble, right, and pure. The fifth whatever of Philippians 4:8 is “whatever is lovely.” The word προσφιλής (prosphiles) that the NIV translates as lovely only appears this once in the New Testament. Most versions I found also translate the word as lovely, but my dictionary and concordance also offered “pleasing” as part of the definition. Several sources offered the idea that this adjective is actually a compound word of pros (προσ) and phileo (φιλέω). “Pros” is a preposition that indicates toward something and phileo is a verb that is “to love personally or to have affection for.” One author offered the idea that in classical Greek prosphiles is “dear, beloved” when referring to a person and “pleasing or agreeable” when describing things. I kind of like the idea that the apostle Paul was urging us think about things or people that are moving toward being dear or beloved.
Merriam-Webster defines lovely as “delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace” and as “grand, swell.” The apostle Paul advising me to focus on “whatever is swell” seems like a bit of a stretch right now. The thing is, earlier in this letter Paul was urging a couple of ladies named Euodia and Syntyche to settle their differences as well as encouraging other fellow Christians to help them. That conflict in the first century Philippian church is probably not far from where we are at in this world of differing opinions about social distancing, the corona virus, and the economy, among other issues. Even though they were sisters in Christ, their dispute must have loomed front and center and made working together for the cause of the gospel difficult.
Like the first century Philippians, it seems like our disputes and differences make it tough to work together for common causes. Honestly, I don’t have an opinion that is worth voicing on our present-day circumstances. What’s more, even if I did, it doesn’t really matter since it probably won’t change our reality. So, what does that mean for me in my world right now? I understand that there seems to be a lot of people out in our world who are up to quite a bit of mischief. There are also many folks who are in dire circumstances, both economically and emotionally. Frankly, I feel pretty powerless at the prospect of making a tangible difference in their lives beyond praying for them.
But if my focus is on the “whatever is lovely” in our world, it is pretty easy to direct my attention to the healthcare heroes who continue to serve us all, regardless of what we’ve caught. And then there are the people like Daniel at Walmart, who brings out my groceries to my car. (He was an after-school tutor who got this job and moved back in with his parents.) Or the mailman who delivers the increasing number of packages to my door in addition to my mail. Or my beloved daughter, who does us the kindness of checking in on us, even though she, like scores of other nurses, is still working. Or how about the lovely aides at my father’s nursing home who use their phones so we can Facetime with him?
Most of those people are not in my sphere of what I would usually think of as beloved or dear ones, but their willingness to serve has truly touched my heart. While I may not know what the right answer is for whether I should wear a mask or not, or go shopping, or get my hair cut, I can tell you that there are many lovely people in our world spreading lovely acts of kindness. And just maybe that is what makes turning my focus to “whatever is lovely” even more vital: Not just looking for loveliness, but on ways I can be “pros-philes” and move toward being lovely for others as I come into contact with them, even the rascally ones.
Here's to not just looking for the lovely, but hoping I can spread some of it too…
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