In Pulpit Digest William H. Willimon used this illustration; "Philip Haille wrote of the little village of Le Chambon in France, a town whose people, unlike others in France, hid their Jews from the Nazis. Haille went there, wondering what sort of courageous, ethical heroes could risk all to do such extraordinary good. He interviewed people in the village and was overwhelmed by the ordinariness. They weren't heroes or smart, discerning people. Haille decided that the one factor that united them was their attendance, Sunday after Sunday, at their little church, where they heard the sermons of Pastor Trochme. Over time, they became by habit people who just knew what to do and did it. When it came time for them to be courageous, the day the Nazis came to town, they quietly did what was right. One old woman, who faked a heart attack when the Nazis came to search her house, later said, 'Pastor always taught us that there comes a time in every life when a person is asked to do something for Jesus. When our time came, we knew what to do.'"
Philippians 4:9 Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.
Everyone is busy today. We have one or the other thing to do. If not at some kind of work, we are fiddling with our phones or watching TV to stay occupied. Perhaps the word like hobby has no meaning for this generation. The little time we have after our studies or work is taken by the gadgets. We need to realize that the things that we watch, hear and feel has its own influence on us. In a very soft way it determines our worldview and most importantly the understanding of God.
As apostle Paul writes to the friends at Philippi in the letter carrying joy as its central theme, he reminds them to be full of good things. Perhaps the Church in Philippi too had gadgets and things of their time to keep them occupied. But Paul reminds them to spend time in things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely,admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Well, can you pause for a minute and look into your schedule. If you are not filling yourself with good things, then you are bound to bring out rubbish. Little things matter.
Stanley Thomas Isac
Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at Pastorstanleytisac@gmail.com
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