This month’s focus for Phil. 4:8 was “whatever is right,” and I have to tell you, this particular segment has had the most diverse and the most passionate replies that I have seen so far. I am not inserting my own thoughts just yet, but rather I am just trying to set forth some of the arguments in a very brief form.

In my readings and research, many people took the stance of moral relativism, saying that there is no absolute right or wrong. As one website said, “We need to make our own decisions about what's right or wrong, and not worry about an outdated moral code like the Ten Commandments,” to which Billy Graham responded to by asking, “which of the second group [last five] would you dismiss? The one forbidding murder, or stealing, or lying, or greed (covetousness), or treating others with respect (especially parents)? No, all those are important, and without them society falls apart.”
 
Another website saw a 50/50 split on whether or not there was even such a thing as absolute morals. Then The Charleston Gazette in its article “Right and Wrong: A Daily Dilemma” said that “right and wrong are elusive. They vary from person to person, place to place, time to time.” PewResearchCenter confirmed this view when it reported that it depended on where you lived as to whether you thought some things were right or wrong and gave as one example that “78% across 40 nations said married people having an affair was morally unacceptable.” However, in France, only 47% saw it as unacceptable.

The Charleston Gazette concluded the above sentence regarding how elusive right and wrong are by stating, “Confusion and contradiction abound.”

(Now I am inserting my thoughts.) And that’s the problem. Left to ourselves, that is exactly what will abound––confusion and contradiction––and so again, I go back to why Phil. 4:8 is written in the order it is, beginning with “whatever is true.” If a person or country or culture has no foundation based on truth, then that person, country, or culture will surely be in confusion and contradiction. And to reiterate again the point of I Cor. 14:33, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”

So couldn’t the true litmus test be just that? If a person or a country or culture finds himself or themselves or itself in confusion or contradiction and not at peace, wouldn’t that be an indication that something is amiss––that something is not right?

If you have time, I have provided a link to a 5 minute YouTube clip in which Ravi Zacharias, a current Christian apologist, answers a question by a young man who believes in moral relativism. I think you will find it interesting. You may have to copy and paste it in a browser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0218GkAGbnU

I love spring––for many reasons. I love the restlessness of the season, the blue skies and puffy white clouds, the fresh rains, and, of course, the blossoms.

This past December and January, Northern California finally had those winter storms we so desperately needed. Then about a month ago, we had a break in the weather. The sun came out, the days were mild, and guess what? The trees were fooled into thinking winter and the bad weather were over. They started to bud, and every Northern Californian took a collective breath and looked at those burgeoning blooms in dismay because we knew the trees were budding too early––way too early. It was only a matter of time before winter made a second pass.

We didn’t have to wait long. A couple of weeks after the trees went into full bloom, the storm hit. Strong winds and torrential rains just pounded the NorthState. I can remember looking out the window at my flowering pear with a broken heart. All those blossoms would be gone by morning.

But they weren’t. Many were. But many hung on. A drive down to the post office showed more of the same. Though it looked like it had just snowed because so many of the blossoms carpeted the parking lot, many of the blooms were still tenaciously hanging on.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel like those vulnerable blossoms. I feel very fragile––like I am hanging on by a tenuous emotional thread and that it wouldn’t take much of a wind to shake me loose. I don’t really have a single cause. It might be overworked or overtired or overwhelmed. It could be undernourished, under the weather,  or under appreciated  Whatever the reason, some mornings it takes just a little extra effort to face the world.

But I remember the tenacity of those little blossoms clinging to the branches, so I took that to heart and remembered verses that spoke about clinging to and trusting in God. Verses like Psalm 63:8 that reads “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” Or Psalm 28:7–– “The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped. . . .” And I learned a very important lesson, one that I hadn’t noticed when I was looking at those little blossoms. Yes, I am to cling and to trust, but that’s not what saves me or keeps me safe. God does. I trust . . . He upholds.

So when the storms hit, and I am feeling fragile, I will cling to God knowing with peaceful assurance that He is indeed holding on to me.

I was working on my Bible study the other day and came across the word “fog” in the context of the study. Outside the rain and wind howled, but I smiled because I would rather have a storm than fog.

I grew up and started teaching in the Central Valley where the Tule fog would sneak in every winter. It is insidious. Tule fog is different from coastal fog, which rolls in off the ocean and often leaves a small layer of breathing and visual space. Not so Tule fog. It rises from the moisture of the earth itself, ground up, and sometimes becomes so thick that you can’t see ten feet in front of you.

On days of thick fog, schools would start two or more hours later, hoping the fog would burn off enough so that the buses could safely make their routes. Drivers would have to hug the right fog lines and inch their way toward intersections they knew should be somewhere around there. I remember chaperoning a Winter Formal one year in extremely thick fog. Cars would be pulled to the side of the road, emergency flashers going, and teen girls would be running ahead in their formals and heels in search of the traffic light in order to tell their date how much further they had to go. I also remember one playoff football game, which had started under clear skies but by halftime the fog had obliterated so much of the field that anything longer than a ten yard pass was impossible to see. And the cold. I don’t think I have ever been colder than when I was watching a soccer game one foggy day. Though the thermometer might have registered 40 degrees, the dampness of the fog just seeped into my bones, making me miserable.

With this type of fog there is also much danger. The air is unhealthy as pollutants get trapped.  Country intersections, void of any type of light, are ripe for fatalities. Freeway collisions end up being massive pileups. Even local drivers, familiar with the area, can become disoriented. Overall, fog causes confusion.

What is ironic is that only two hundred yards or sometimes just two hundred feet up, the sky is perfectly clear. Sometimes on a foggy Saturday, our family would drive up toward Kings Canyon National Park. It wouldn’t take long before we would break through that seemingly impervious wall of fog and into the brilliant sunshine. Then we would pull off to the side of the road and look back at what seemed to be an ocean of clouds underneath which we knew lay towns and cities all across the valley.

Many times we find ourselves in a spiritual fog. Disorientation. Confusion. Danger.  Satan would love us to live in the fog.  But not God. He is not the “author of confusion but of peace.” (I Cor. 14:33) Just as the Highway Patrol will often take ten to twenty cars at a time through the densest fog until they reach safety, so our "God will will hold [our] right hand, saying to [us], 'Fear Not; I will help you.'” (Isaiah 41:14) We need to remember that if we find ourselves in a spiritual fog, not to despair. Clear skies are usually close by. We just need to follow the One who can lead us there.

As I write this, the wind is just howling outside and has been for two days. Though it may sound strange, I like the sound of a strong wind––at least from inside my warm and secure house, but I also know how destructive that same wind can be. I have lost a fence, others have lost trees, and some have lost roofs or even homes due to wind damage. The wind can be a powerful force.

Not all wind, however, is destructive. Kites can’t get off the ground without it, sailors rely on it, and energy is produced by it. A light breeze (little wind) can be refreshing.

But wind is a bit mysterious, isn’t it? We can’t see it, nor know where it begins or where it ends, and some of us don’t even know how it is generated. True we have been told it is caused by a difference in pressure, and this movement of air from a high to a low pressure creates wind, but that seems a tad bit simplistic.

Because of the wind’s invisible and enigmatic nature and power, it is often used as an analogy to help explain the nature of God. People will ask, “How can you believe in something you can’t see? How do you know God really exists?” And one part of that answer is, “You can’t see the wind, but you can see the effects of the wind.” You can see the trees move, the white caps in the water, hear the power through the trees, feel its pressure against your body. No, you can’t see the wind, but you can see, and hear, and feel what it does.

Likewise, though we can’t see God, we can see, hear, and feel Him: in the beauty and power of creation, in His spirit speaking to our very soul, and in His calming presence in our situations or circumstances. God’s invisible nature is not truly invisible because we can see, hear, and feel the tangible results of His involvement in our lives.

I won’t lie. Focusing on “whatever things are noble” this past month was a tough task, primarily because the 12+ definitions covered a wide spectrum of options: from a person’s rank to a person being physically imposing to a person "having an exalted moral or mental character or excellence."

I googled “noble people of the 20th century” and basically found all of the above to be included: presidents, famous athletes, geniuses, and philanthropists. I was also redirected to “influential” people as the search engine (I guess) considered the two synonymous, though a quick look at some of the scoundrels mentioned on those pages made me quickly realize that the two words DID NOT mean the same thing at all.

Where this little journey took me, however, was to two realizations. First, it gave me a greater appreciation for God’s perfect order. In Philippians 4:8 the first phrase is “whatever things are true.”  I am realizing (as I peek ahead to the other virtues) that unless one has a definitive truth on which to stand, the rest of the words will have no stability either. Definitions will fluctuate enough to cover all manner of meanings. No absolute truth, no absolute anything. And when everything is flexible, you end up with 12+ definitions and some real scoundrels in the mix.  

Second, I realized that true nobility only comes from true humility. Those who have attempted to exalt themselves usually ended up in that “scoundrel” category, while those who selflessly focused on their calling, who were not deterred by nay-Sayers or critics, or who were not seeking public approval ended up being exalted by others as being noble. People such as the following:

Eric Liddell: Scottish runner turned missionary who gave up his chance at Olympic gold in his favorite event (110 meters) because he would not compromise his values and run on Sunday, the day the qualifying heats were scheduled.

Albert Einstein: Whose devotion to scientific discovery was unwavering.

Mother Teresa: She made every list and was number one on most. Need I say more.

Finally, it shouldn’t surprise any of us that this paradoxical reality is stated in the Bible. Below are just three.

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” I Peter 5:6 (emphasis mine)

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10 (emphasis mine)

So how do we focus on whatever things are noble? By recognizing and appreciating the sacrifices a person has made for his fellow man. Servant-hood and humility=nobility.