Day Ten // February 27 // Whatever is Excellent “My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.” – Charles Dickens –
The Apostle Paul ends this injunction to let Christ’s mind live in us by urging, “If anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” What Paul is urging us to do is to not get mired in the ruts and struggles of life. To focus on those things that surpass and are superior to the ordinary. We must go beyond the limitations the culture wants to place on us. But notice where excellence begins: in our minds. Charles Swindoll wrote, “The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it’s a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free.” When we start thinking about excellent things, we will start to cultivate optimism. We will learn to not let
