Whatever is Noble…Like a Noble Gas?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.”

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

So. The second “whatever” that Apostle Paul wants us to think about, in order to not be anxious about anything (remember from Phil 4:6, which I introduced in this article?), is something noble.

Hmph. In the 21st century, when we no longer have “nobles” except for the ones we watch on Netflix, and maybe we’re not even sure what the word means because we don’t really use it very often in everyday language…

What in the world, Paul, should we be thinking about?

Just trying to come up with something noble to think about is…

… is making me anxious, tbh!

Seriously, when I try to think of something noble, my top 3 things are: the TV series Downton Abbey, horses in a Scottish parade, and my Siri (English, UK, British Voice 2, fyi).

Before we go any further, make a note of your top 3 things that you think are noble.

Got them?

OK. Silliness aside, I thought I’d lean into my science-y background for this little exploration, to get us to where I think, in my extremely humble-not-noble opinion, Paul wants us to go.

Whatever is a noble… gas?

I have an MD, and to earn that, I had to take a good chunk of chemistry and biochemistry. Those subjects a big part of my foundation for learning – and eventually teaching – how the body works on a microscopic, chemical level.

If you had to take chemistry for any reason, you may (or may not) remember The Periodic Table – that big chart with the rows of boxes. In each box, there’s a chemical – technically, an “element.” Elements are things that can’t be broken down into anything simpler. But you can combine them to make more complex things.

On the far right side of each row, at the end of the row, there’s a special element called a “noble gas.” Those 6 noble gases are, from the top row (smallest) to the bottom row (largest): helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon.

Do any of them sound familiar?

But what makes them special – or “noble”?

First, they’re all gases at room temperature – not solid, not liquid. But that’s not really special, per se. That just… is.

Here’s the special part: according to LibreTexts, Chemistry, all 6 of the noble gases, on the atomic level, have “complete” or “full” outer shells. Specifically, helium has 2 particles, called electrons, in its outer shell; the rest have 8 electrons in their outer shells. And those are, by definition in the world of chemistry, maxed-out outer shells.

So…???

So, because the noble gases have maxed-out outer shells, their most important common characteristic is that they are considered “stable.” That is, they almost never take on additional stuff from other chemicals, and they almost never give up their own stuff to combine with other chemicals.

They don’t need any other chemical – any other stuff – to be complete.

And so, they remain unchanging. Reliable.

Noble.

Sound like *Someone* we know?

Hmmm, sounds like God to me:

Complete. (Matthew 28:19)

Unchanging. (Hebrews 13:8)

Reliable. (Psalms 93:5)

Yes: Noble.

“Think about such things”

Of course, if thinking about all this chemistry is a bit heady, feel free to think more concretely. Think about the complete excitement of neon lights when you’re in a new city, the unchanging value of an x-ray when you’ve broken a bone, or the reliable fun of helium balloons when you walk into a party.

When you think of those things, don’t your anxious feelings disappear, at least for awhile?

Just think of how long your anxious feelings could disappear if you were to talk Paul’s advice and think about whatever is noble about God!

Reflective Response: How to think of whatever is noble about God

Here are 3 concrete examples of noble things about God that you can think about – try any or all of them right now…

And watch your anxious feelings drift to Him…

1. God is your Father, and, therefore, you are a son/daughter of God. I mean, God! Is that an awesome – and noble – thought right there?
2. Jesus knows your name. Wow, a really busy guy who doesn’t forget your name? That’s a mind-boggling – and noble – thought, I’d say.
3. The Holy Spirit is your very own one-on-one coach, your 24/7 personal trainer… literally, your Helper. And you can ask him anything by simply, well, asking. Amazing.

And you guessed it: Noble.