‘Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.’ A good goal for today

By Dean Collins

I might have found the verse of Scripture we have lost in current culture. It’s a verse we might want to put on our phone screens or computers so we see it when we are working each day.

“Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.”

It’s not as catchy as some verses we gravitate to in times of need and trouble. But the apostle Paul placed it in a powerful closing section of Philippians. We tend to love the verses before and after this one, but our behavior might suggest we have forgotten this important instruction.

As the imprisoned apostle begins to close his short letter to the Philippians and to us, he gives at least seven instructions for us to follow. Many of these appear elsewhere in Paul’s writings and in other Scripture from both the Old and New Testaments.

1) Stand firm
2) Be joyful
3) Be reasonable
4) Be expectant of the coming of Jesus
5) Be prayerful
6) Be at peace
7) Keep your mind on what is godly

• Paul’s first instruction, stand firm, includes that our standing is in the Lord. We dare not try to stand on our own. We will surely be knocked down if we try to live out our faith in isolation. The foundation of our faith is Jesus and is consistent with the instructions of the Psalms and the words of the Sermon on the Mount. We stand on the rock of Jesus. He is our firm foundation. We never try to stand on whatever old or new ideology is not built on Jesus.

I believe the phrase “in the Lord” helps us understand and, more importantly, practice Paul’s other instructions. All of these can and must happen “in the Lord” if they are to sustain us, extend the kingdom of God, and bring peace with God, self, and others.

• We often read and talk about the joy of the Lord. While it’s not always easy for us to rejoice due to our circumstances, we see the example of Paul writing from prison and understand that joy does not depend on circumstance, though we often try to insist that it does.

• Preachers often preach about rejoicing and joy when they work their way through Paul’s letter. But I have rarely heard anyone dwell on the idea of letting others see one’s reasonableness. The Greek word used here is epieikes. It’s translated a few different ways by various scholars. Some suggest gentleness as the proper definition; others say moderation and that the focus is on restraint of our various passions. The ESV translation uses the word reasonableness. In my opinion, this word pulls together both gentleness and moderation as part of what is reasonable.

As we live our faith in public we are to display a gentle tone and a reasonable way of dealing with our appetites and attitudes. We have placed our faith and our life in God’s hands. His Spirit fills us, and our reasonableness and moderation should keep us from bursts of anger at what others believe. Dealing with others, especially those who don’t follow Jesus, without reasonableness and a gentle spirit, simply stirs division and makes the life of Jesus unattractive. All of Paul’s closing instructions are to be carried out in the Lord and with a reasonableness that sets the tone for our interactions with others.

• Paul’s reminder that the Lord is at hand is a reminder that Jesus will return and that we should live as if he will do so today. But Paul’s reminder that the Lord is at hand is first a reminder that Jesus is always present. He is here with us and because he is at hand his presence should guide every thought and behavior.

• The Lord is at hand. We will meet him either at death or at his return. He is with us now by his Spirit and we therefore should not be anxious about anything. Some days I have a lot of things to be anxious about, but in the Lord, I must heed this reminder that all things are in God’s hands and that my best position is to bring before God my needs and my gratitude. Through prayer, we release our anxiety, express trust in his provision, and allow his peace once again to fill us. This enables us to mentally focus on the beauty of all that is and comes from God.

• The more we think on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise, the more our thinking and behavior will shift from being unreasonable to allowing the gentleness and reasonableness of Christ to guide us and shine through us for the world to see.

There is a lot of anger in the world today. Let’s practice the reasonableness that comes from above and see what God does in those around us.

Your time with God’s Word
Philippians‬ ‭4:1, 4-9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by charlesdeluvio at unsplash.com

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