Whatever?!?!?

Seems like almost everywhere you go (but ESPECIALLY in houses with teens), you hear "whatever!" as a response. Often it is stated with an eye roll or 2 when someone asks him/her a question and they get frustrated or don't seem to care about the issue.

I thought about this just a couple of days ago as I read through Philippians and ran across the verse with whatever and a nice list of things to think about....and I was going to write about it. However, sometimes procrastination has a purpose as explained below the verse.

Philippians 4:7-9 (NIV) ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Tonight while watching TV a blurb came on about Sarah Palin, Down's Syndrome and the show Family Guy. Hmmmm. Interesting combination. Apparently, the show Family Guy recently showed an episode of a Downs girl with Palin-ish glasses that stated her mom was the former governor of Alaska. Later there was a song and dance about Downs Syndrome.

I am not a fan of Family Guy anyway, but this was sinking to a new low....even for them. However, star fans of the show stated there is such a thing as "First Amendment Rights" and "free speech". The show creator, Seth Mac Farlane stated that the show is "an equal opportunity offender". I'm sure there are some people who will just say "whatever!??!?".

To me, and I hope to others also, this is a wake up call to the verses above. The peace of God will guard our hearts and minds, but we are responsible for what we fill our hearts and minds with. Sometimes that means walking out of a theater or turning off the TV or reading something else. So start looking for whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.