This is in the "Other Thoughts" section of the upcoming Weekly Barden.
“That ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.” (KJV; emphasis mine)There wasn’t really anything wrong with what I’d wrote before but I could not call it excellent. (I possibly still can’t.) And of course, being human and imperfect, my writing will never be truly excellent. I don’t plan to stop writing just because it doesn’t meet that standard, but there is always room for improvement.
The thing that really got me was this little train of thought: God doesn’t need to prove why something is wrong; we need to prove how or why it is excellent. If we cannot, then it is not good enough. Does that make sense?
What does excellent mean in verse 10? In the Strong’s concordance, it is number 1308, diaphero. It is that which is different, set apart, of more value.
My thoughts in my writing had been around different publications that supposedly are for “Christian” enlightenment. I read a lot of articles, posts, and some print magazines, and am searching for another good print magazine to subscribe. It’s difficult to find something that is excellent. I read things that are by Christians and non-Christians alike; things that are specifically labelled Christian and things that are specifically labelled secular.
Verse 10 says that ye may approve things that are excellent. It is important (I think) to look back to verse 9, which says Paul prays the Philippians’ love abound in knowledge and judgment. When we reach that point, {is it only when we reach that point?} then we will be able to approve things which are excellent.
