I still chuckle when I think back to my teenagers\u2019 classic retort: \u201cWHATEVER!\u201d It was usually delivered with a hefty dose of eye-rolling and a sigh that could fill a room. A harmless way of saying, \u201cYour opinion doesn\u2019t quite make my playlist, Mom!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But today, I want to talk about a different kind of \u201cWhatever\u201d\u2014 one that brings us back to the wisdom of Paul in Philippians 4:8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Paul said, \u201cBrothers 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,\u201d he was giving us more than a sweet suggestion. He was handing us a lifeline, a roadmap to navigate the wild twists and turns of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And what a timely reminder as we get closer to Election Day, where \u201cwhatevers\u201d seem to drift toward chaos and negativity. It\u2019s so easy to get tangled up in debates and headlines that sap our joy, forgetting the truly excellent things around us. But here, Paul challenges us to sift through the noise, to find the praiseworthy things and hold on tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what are some of these \u201cWhatevers\u201d that can steady us during the speeches, the signs and the slogans? l tell you what\u2019s excellent and praiseworthy: kindness still shines brighter than any campaign slogan, families still come together despite their differences, and God\u2019s promises are still true even in tumultuous times. Those are \u201cThe Whatevers\u201d we can stand on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think of \u201cThe Whatevers\u201d as our personal playlist for peace. By focusing on what\u2019s true, noble, and pure, we align our hearts with God\u2019s wisdom, choosing peace over pandemonium. So, when the headlines start to blur and opinions fly like leaves in a windstorm, remember this gentle instruction: Whatever is excellent, whatever is praiseworthy — think about such things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And let\u2019s make \u201cThe Whatevers\u201d contagious! Let’s share them, reflect on them, let them seep into our conversations, lifting our spirits and grounding our thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s be the people who walk in the wisdom of \u201cThe Whatevers,\u201d showing a world that there is a light worth looking for — even when everything else seems to shout, \u201cWHATEVER!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I still chuckle when I think back to my teenagers\u2019 classic retort: \u201cWHATEVER!\u201d It was usually delivered with a hefty dose of eye-rolling and a sigh that could fill a room. A harmless way of saying, \u201cYour opinion doesn\u2019t quite make my playlist, Mom!\u201d But today, I want to talk about a different kind of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[30052,1210,25288,3652,1769,30760,7083,15259,30757,1392,30761,40,13082,30048,457,27571,12714,4540,20400,3890,17849,30759,6940,30755,15258,30758],"class_list":["post-21030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-admirable","tag-blog","tag-brothers-and-sisters","tag-chaos","tag-christian","tag-debates","tag-election-day","tag-excellent","tag-eye-rolling","tag-facebook","tag-headlines","tag-inspiration","tag-lifeline","tag-lovely","tag-negativity","tag-noble","tag-paul-the-apostle","tag-philippians-48","tag-praiseworthy","tag-pure","tag-right","tag-roadmpa","tag-sign","tag-the-whatevers","tag-true","tag-whatever"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21033,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21030\/revisions\/21033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}