“…whatever things are noble…”
Paul is challenging Euodia and Syntyche to think in an entirely different way. They suffered defeat by bitterness towards each other. If they are to conquer these thoughts they must replace them with the way God thinks.
The second item that will counteract bitterness is to think about that which is “noble.”
“whatever things are noble”
“Noble” is that which is worthy of worship or reverence. “Noble” signifies that which claims respect. Some things are base, mean, frivolous or flippant. These things do not carry respect. We respect things for their morale or spiritual quality. This word is used in
I Tim. 3:8, 11 andTitus 2:2 of church officers. This quality makes them worthy of respect. Venerate each other.Euodia needs to respect Syntyche. Syntyche needs to find what she can respect about Euodia. Instead of tearing each other down we should find areas where we can honor each other. Esteem is a building block of a good relationship.
Principle:
Mutual respect is a building block of a good relationship.
Application:
Do you seek to find what you can respect in another person? Is your orientation to find fault in other people? Do you try to discover the commendable side of other people?
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