Christian PHIL 101

Written by Kevin Mills

"What defines an individual: Health or illness?" This was a question posed to me by Rachelle an ER nurse in a large metropolitan hospital. Rachelle was faced with this quandary everyday and so I told her I'd get back to her within a few minutes with a response. As began to think about it I realized there was a very simple response: Whichever you let define you. It all comes back to Victor Frankl's famous quote after being imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp for over four years that, "Everything can be taken from a man but…the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances…" We can never fully control our environment and subsequently the "things that happen" but we can control our attitude - and our attitude quickly defines our thinking patterns and eventually our personality.

This also brings me to the story of Earl Nightingale, one of the first motivational speakers to receive notable notoriety. Nightingale published a short recording titled "The Strangest Secret" in 1956 and consisted of simply this, "You become what you think about most of the time." Whatever you focus the most of your thought processes on - that is most likely what you will become or be defined as.

Maybe this is why Paul (New Testament) challenges us to only think on things that are true, pure, honest, just, lovely, and of good report! (Phil 4:8) This kind of thinking is "whole" in goodness and thus leads us down the path of "wholeness" and "holiness." So then if we focus our attitudes on what is "honest" we will eventually find honesty the destination. "Purity" we will find our destination pure. "Good Report," we will find ourselves encouraged at the end of our day, week, month, year, and eventually life.

Focusing on the positive aspects of life is not denial either. Denial is the complete rejection of reality - whereas a positive mindset sees the roadblocks but enjoys the scenery while driving around them. As one philosopher once said, "Sometimes the only obstacle that stands between a person and their life's goal is their thoughts." Our mind has a tenacious ability to create roadblocks and worries that may not exist and thus stop us short of our desired quality of life.

So then let us become ever vigil of our attitude and reaction to circumstances that come into our live. Let us choose to let life's expostulations develop in us "better-ness" and not "bitterness," hope and not hopelessness, joy and not joylessness. What will you allow to define you?