Php. 4:8 ... "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 anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
In recent articles the effort has been made to show that essential elements of good character (Christian character) are found in Php. 4:8. The first two, being truthful and being honorable, were emphasized in the two previous essays. The third and fourth in the series, devotion to what is right and exalting what is pure, have really already been featured in the exposition of Jesus' beatitudes in Mat. 5:3-12. Devotion to what is right is the same as Beatitude No. 4, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; and exalting what is pure is the same as Beatitude No. 6, "Blessed are the pure in heart." There is no need, therefore, to add anything further to these, although a great deal more could be said about each of them. Thus we shall proceed to the fifth thing presented in Php. 4:8, "Whatever is lovely."
The word thus translated from the original Greek text is prosphilĂȘ, which means "that which calls forth love." What is featured here is a quality in a person's life that induces others to love them. We all can think of someone whom it is very easy to love. There is something about them that makes you feel good in their presence and quickly wins your heart. Jesus saw that quality in unusual measure in the Apostle John, because four times in the Book of John this apostle is called "the one whom Jesus loved." The first is in John 19:26-27. As Jesus was being crucified, it says, "When (He) therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved, standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your Son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household."
Jesus loved all His apostles, as well as friends like Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany, in a special way. But there was something about John that called forth His love in an exceptional manner. That is what this character trait is -- loveliness -- a power within someone's personality that "calls forth" your love. You notice it quickly; you appreciate it greatly; and you start loving them.
To explain this power, it is tempting to produce a list of things that together "call forth your love": an habitually pleasant facial expression, frequent smiling, a pleasant disposition, being mild-mannered, being genuinely sympathetic, and being kind and polite. Several other qualities can be added to this list. A person who has them will win your heart easily and quickly; you will not even have to try. So it would be easy to say that the presence and combination of them is what "calls forth your love" and that the combined effect is what loveliness is.
But I don't think that is the case. Rather, what we see here is a single component of Christian character that produces the wonderful effect mentioned above. This elemental compoent is what the New Testa-ment calls prosphilĂȘ (loveliness). It is what produces a beautiful personality that "calls forth love" when you are with such a person. Let us not confuse the effects with the underlying cause; let us recognize that cause and learn to call it by its proper name, loveliness.
At birth God gives us certain special potentials that He does not give everyone, at least not in the same meausre. We call them "talents." They are inclinations and abilities to do something in a way better than others. For example, some people are born with musical talent. That does not mean that at age six they can sit down at a piano and play Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms easily. But it does mean they can learn quickly, easily, and perfectly the skills that would enable them at an early age to play the music of the Masters like the Masters. A person without talent, with diligent effort, could learn to play them also. But they would never do it with the ease, the skill, and the grace of the person with real talent. The same is true with any talent ... art, athletics, eloquence, intelligence. Nearly anybody can be taught art, but their work will never hang in the Metropolitan Gallery in New York. Many youngsters become local stars in the various sports, but they never make the professional teams, or in most cases, even college sports. God does not give everyone the capacity to compose a symphony, paint a masterpiece with uni-versal appeal, set athletic records in the pros, rival the great orators, or win a name alongside Einstein in intelligence.
The reader may now think I have "gotten off track"; what does this have to do with loveliness? Well, here is the point: God grants the potential to be lovely to some people more than others; it is, therefore, a talent. Some people almost from birth display the attributes that "call forth love" in those about them. The rest of us have to work for it ... and work hard! I have been told that my usual facial expression is somewhat forbidding; I do not smile a lot of the time; some of my students said my disposition is stern; I do not think I'm good at being mild-mannered; I have to work to be sympathetic; I have to remind my-self to be kind, especially in stressful situations; and sometimes I suffer a lapse in politeness. So, I am reconciled to the fact that I was not born with the talent of loveliness. But that does not mean I cannot develop it to a level that will be acceptable to God. I just have to try! And that is the case with most who read this. So, indeed, let us make that effort, resolutely and consistently.
[Character 17]