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Put your hands in the pocket of a brand-new pair of pants, and you might pull out a slip of paper that reads, "PROUDLY INSPECTED BY 9." Whoever "9" is, they want you to know that they've checked the seams, zippers, pockets, and belt loops on your new britches and want you to feel confident in the construction. Quality assurance may not be a glamorous job, but it's sure better than having a wardrobe malfunction in the middle of the grocery store!

In this What's Good study, we've been inspecting the quality of our thoughts. If we're thinking about whatever is "true ... honorable ... just ... pure ... lovely" and "commendable" (Phil. 4:8), we know we're thinking long-lasting and time-tested thoughts. So, as we wrap up these conversations, let's look back at the big ideas we've tackled, praising God for his incredible goodness.

God's Good Gifts

• When we don't take in the natural world, we miss a window into the wonder of God's goodness and greatness.
• The chance to do good work and appreciate the work of others is worth celebrating.
• Work is good, but God also created us to enjoy the sweetness of rest.
• God manifests his wisdom and glory in the diversity he has filled his good world with.
• Singing expresses what's inside us — what we believe, feel, and decide.
• It pleases and glorifies God when we gratefully enjoy his blessings together.
• Family bonds can give us love and acceptance that reflects our Heavenly Father's.
• Through consistent acts of loyal love, we stockpile trust that friends draw on for a lifetime.

Praiseworthy Virtues

• Though we're not perfect, we glorify God by stretching daily to be better and do better.
• God teaches us to appreciate kindness by pouring his unimaginable love and mercy into our lives.
• We love truthful words because they're the language our God uses to speak to us.
• When we lift ourselves above others, we forget that our King lowered himself for us.
• Filling our hearts and minds with goodness leaves no room for the filth of sin.

How has this study changed the kinds of things you think about?

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I looked out my window this fall morning, expecting to see brown. But instead, everything I saw outside my window was covered in snow. Untouched by footprints or car tracks, it seemed to have baptized the world I knew — parked cars, trees, mailboxes — under a blanket of white. When you see how clean it looks, sparkling in the sunlight, you understand the Lord's invitation: "Come now, let us reason together ... though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." He says, "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes.” And he wants his people to “learn to do good” and “seek justice” for the oppressed (Isa. 1:16-18). So let's complete our study with one final praiseworthy virtue, filling our hearts with "whatever is pure" (Phil. 4:8).

The Big Idea

Filling our hearts and minds with goodness leaves no room for the filth of sin. After David's sin, he prayed for God to wash him "whiter than snow" (Ps. 51:7). But he didn't stop at a prayer for forgiveness. Instead, he asked God to create something new in him. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Ps. 51:10)

Rather than impure, fleshly thoughts, "those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:5). The old you died. In baptism, you rose with Christ (Rom. 6:1-5), who reigns above. So set your mind on what's above and put to death "what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:2, 5).

What do supermarket labels mean when they say, "100% Pure"? Purity is about completeness. It's "100% pure Canadian maple syrup" only if the entire product is Canadian maple. And we're "pure in heart" (Matt. 5:8) when we devote ourselves entirely to the Lord, with single-minded sincerity.

Big Question

What sin is it easy for you to overlook, and how can you give it more attention?

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What's the perfect foil for a Beast? How about a handsome but arrogant villain? When Gaston calls himself "a specimen," brags about cheap shots, and invites Belle to admire his trophies, he seems silly until he self-servingly commits Belle's father and incites a mob. We know a villain when we see selfish pride. It's why we loathe the Dursleys, despise Prince Humperdinck, and find satisfying justice in the demise of Esther's real-life nemesis, Haman. Because, at our core, we admire those who humbly lower themselves while lifting up others. It's another noble virtue worth celebrating.

The Big Idea

When we lift ourselves above others, we forget that our King lowered himself for us. The Lord of Lords is "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29). What an unexpected path to the top Jesus illuminates! We don't climb over others; we hold them up! "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:25).

Galileo challenged the belief that the universe revolves around our world. Four hundred years later, some still think they're the center of the universe. The delusion that everyone owes you makes life a battle for what's yours. But we deserved death, Jesus paid what he didn't owe, and everything changed because of that gift (Rom. 6:23). We're happy debtors, loving others and sharing the gift (Rom. 1:15; 13:8). Narcissism stains our politics, entertainment, and interactions. Pride is fashionable, but we can still find humility. We can show our kids a first responder's selflessness or an expert who keeps listening (Prov. 1:5), staying "open to reason" (James 3:14-17).

Where pride looks out for "number one." Humility looks "not only" to your "own interests but also to the interests of others" (Phil. 2:4). Seeing others as equals, we consider them significant, sharing the glory of Christ's lowliness (Phil. 2:3-11). Andrew Murray rightly calls humility "the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all."

The Big Question

Will you be a "servant of all" today?

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