Commendable

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Definition: commendable/good report/repute: ephemos-uttering good words or sounds of good omen, avoiding ill-opened words, hence fair sounding.

I wrote notes out and this definition didn’t really impact until today. Our words! Continuing this truth:

“You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭34‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

If I remember nothing else from this time of tracing the words of Paul, may I remember that what fills my heart flows out of my mouth.

“But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?”
‭‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

I can make excuses in my mind for reasons that I speak harshly or gossip. But, Lord, you see this. How is this fair? I need to talk it through. (Do I? Do I really?) i love when my brain brings up fair. I walked by a television mocking our president. While I have my own thoughts about our president, I wonder how this lines up with the words of Scripture. Our political climate has become a wild torrent of abusive words, mocking, yelling.

Let’s look at some concordance verses that help us understand this word, commendable/good report.

“Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

“They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.””
‭‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭22‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

I could keep going! One more.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Faith begins with knowing where our hope is found. We do not need physical to understand that God is here. He is present. And he can be found. These are commendable thoughts. They anchor our thought life, help us decide next steps. Our conduct, our speech…so convicting to me.

Not only is God here, He loves me right here. He sent his son for this person and for you. He loves you. All of these verses about commendable speech and actions begin with our adherence and are our worship. Our choice to do these things is love, a response to HIS love for us.

When I start having a conversation about fair (see above), I have lost my perspective. This is all an offering and that changes something in my mind. Rather than just “duty”, I can actively choose my speech, my actions. We have difficult situations in our lives where we must choose daily.

“If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.””
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭24‬:‭15‬ ‭AMP‬‬