How Noble Are You?
In Philippians 4:8 the apostle Paul gives a list of things he encourages us to think about. He writes, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praise-worthy—think about such things.” I preached a sermon this morning based on this passage. When I did research for it I discovered something very interesting. The word Paul used for “noble” has a long history. It eventually came to mean what we think it does but in ancient literature it was used to refer to the gods and the temples of the gods. William Barclays says “when used to describe a man, it described “a person who…moves throughout the world as if it were the temple of God.”
In my estimation someone who can move throughout the world as if it were the temple of God is noble indeed. It has been noted at this site numerous times that the earth ought to be viewed as the temple of God. The Psalmist boldly declared that “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” (24:1) For this reason we should understand that the ground beneath our feet is sacred. The whole earth is a holy temple because it belongs to God and due to the fact that God inhabits it. A new heaven and a new earth may await us down the road but here and now we are standing on holy ground.
If we recognize that the earth is the temple of God we will be more open to the presence of God in our lives. It will likely lead us to live with a greater sense of gratitude. I also have a feeling that if we moved throughout the world as if it were the temple of God that we would be far more prone to treat it with respect and attempt when we can to protect it. For all of these reasons I think we should all strive to be “noble” men and women.
–Chuck
(I took the two images above this past Friday at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.)