The peace of God will guard your hearts (Philippians 4:7), and the God of peace will be with you. (4:9). Paul repeatedly calls the Philippian church to experience joy because it is a church in need of joy. And we see here in chapter 4 that it is also a church in need of peace. This gospel of the peace of God and God of peace is exactly what would have drawn the Philippians away from their pagan roots and toward Jesus in the first place. Pagan theology dealt in anxiety. The pagan gods wanted you nervous, always wondering if you had done enough to make them happy. But here is the promise of peace in Christ Jesus, not after having met stringent qualifications, but after simply showing up in the humble act of prayer. One specific area in the Philippian church where peace is lacking is in the conflict between two of its most beloved and influential pillars, a couple of faithful women named Euodia and Syntyche. We’re not told what their conflict is (but aren’t all conflicts mostly the same? Feelings get hurt and egos refuse to relinquish control and superiority), only that Paul and the church wish them to return to one mind with each other.
As Paul takes a moment to identify this conflict, he spends no time at all engaging in basic conflict resolution. Paul has no interest in problem solving as if there’s nothing more going on than a fire that needs putting out. Instead, Paul speaks into this conflict by speaking the language of theology, that is, naming who God is to the church. God writes our names in his book of life (4:3). God is near (4:4). God listens when we pray (4:6). And God is the God of peace (4:9). At the same time, Paul lays out what a faithful response to this God looks like. Before such a God as this, the church is called to visibly exemplify joy and gentleness (4:4), to turn our worries into prayers of gratitude (4:5), and to live on a spiritual diet of consuming all that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy (4:8). How could a conflict between beloved sisters withstand this God and this calling?
The news and social media have a different kind of spiritual diet for us. They feed us whatever will keep us anxious, angry, jealous and divided. Consume something better than that, Paul says. Instead of fixating on what is false, dwell on what is true, always true even in our volatile world. Instead of fixating on who is dishonest and devious, dwell on who is honorable, who is living a commendable and praiseworthy life. Instead of obsessing over everything wrong in the world, dwell on where you see God’s justice being established. Dwell on what is pure and uncontaminated by sin. Dwell on what is lovely and beautiful. Dwell on what is excellent and calling you forward to a deeper faith and sharper prayer life. Especially dwell on how these things have come into being in Jesus. “Think on these things,” Paul says (4:8). Imagine the peace we will experience when this is our spiritual diet!
Such a diet of prayer and praiseworthy “thoughts” will lead us to the God of peace. But at the same time, the God of peace is leading us into this healthier, holier, transformative diet of prayer and praiseworthy thoughts. As the peace of God leads us to the God of peace and back again, conflict, ego, and the constant worry about making God happy melt away. Let us give in to these practices of prayer and praiseworthy thoughts and be forever changed.
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