Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
– Philippians 4:8
One characteristic of new believers is that they are true. Their prayers and testimonies are genuine, never faked or forced. After a little while, however, they learn how to perform. The root of our Christian life must be this virtue of being true. That which is true knows nothing of display or pretense. We shouldn’t try to build ourselves up, appearing to be someone we are not. As newborn Christians, nearly everything we do is true, for we do not yet know how to act according to others’ expectation. This experience of being true is necessary if we want to know life.
The more we grow and progress in our Christian lives, the more we will discover how corrupted things can be. No matter how spiritual we become, our sinful part also develops. Paul said, “Whatever is true…dwell on these things.” Remember how you began.
Excerpted from Philippians: That I May Gain Christ by Titus Chu, p. 270