“Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false.”
– Richard Cecil (Leaves of Gold, pg. 42)
My first response to this word of wisdom is this: if every person were to heed this advice, social media would have no traffic. Some of you may remember (and you don’t have to admit if you do) the 1980’s song by Don Henley called Dirty Laundry. The song was essentially a critical observation of how news media feed off of and even magnify negativity in society, with little regard to the consequence. Henley may be sad to know that our culture hasn’t changed much in that regard.
I want to return to a verse I referenced at the beginning of this series. The exhortation is always timely, and it corresponds perfectly with Cecil’s quote. It is a word from the apostle Paul found in Philippians 4:8. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Paul has a head start on this thought with the preceding verses. He has encouraged his hearers to always be joyful (v. 4), to live with gentleness (v. 5), to avoid anxiety through consistent prayer (v. 6), all with the promise that in doing so Christ will establish a protective hedge around our hearts and minds (v. 7). It seems like a natural progression to conclude with the exhortation to direct our thoughts toward the good, right and beautiful things of life.
At the risk of sounding too critical of social media, the content posted on these platforms would clearly give one the impression that we are a bunch of very angry people. It is natural, perhaps necessary at times, for a person to express frustration or anger. Even so, the constant barrage seems to be extraordinary. This is not good for at least one reason, namely that the mind is a battleground easily captured by the Accuser who works for our undoing. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul talks about our spiritual struggle and the need to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (v. 5). If the things we say are an indication of the things we think, evidence strongly suggests that we as a society are thinking about very negative things.
There is an abundance of goodness and beauty in the world. It is a shame—perhaps even a sin—if we choose to miss it because our thoughts are consumed with evil, hate, and division. I have come far enough in life to know that Cecil’s words reflect God’s wisdom. Ignoring such wisdom will be to consciously forfeit immeasurable happiness. Today, I choose to think on the good things. How about you?
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 