Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1Thessalonians 4:11-12
What great advice! Paul’s instructions here need little amplification from me or anyone else, but I might just add this…
Leading quiet lives is out of fashion these days with tweets, texts and people sounding off all the time. I used to tell my kids that their friends don’t need to know about every little thought that passes their consciousness. Of course teenagers tend to think their parents don’t know anything and they texted or posted or spoke frequently, and frequently got a face full in return… Hardly an example of leading a quiet life.
Back in Paul’s time, working with your hands would refer to someone who was self-supporting and not dependant on others. It didn’t mean that they work in a factory as opposed to an office, for neither existed at the time.
Most importantly, the result of his instruction is that we maintain a good reputation in the community so that we reflect well on the Gospel we preach. Boy, does this ever apply to us!
Living in this way allows us to focus our attention where it needs to be focused; on our relationship with Jesus Christ. He is our hope, not this world. He is the center of our beings, not gossip and social media. He is the reason we are on this planet, not making millions. It is this understanding that is step one to a peaceful and satisfying life.
Life Project Blog 
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
I always referred to this verse. One of my favorites in the good book. This tricky planet and it’s people can sidetrack you and make you forget. A good reminder. At the workplace, this is very valuable. Someday, I will make a nice printing of this and hang it on a wall next to my desk or make a desktop of this. The overly inflamed egos of management (and of course the on-air talent) , their questionable spiritual values at issue, has to be have a “automaton” mentality. I make my best effort in the eyes of the lord, not some crazy lady boss and flips out if I forget an e-mail she sent some year ago.
Last week, a small army of my wife’s family got all together and helped move my in-laws into a spacous and walk friendly home for the mother who cannot handle the steps anymore due to health. A couple sisters was high profile in their running the show and a couple guys kind of “hot dog” it moving. Fine…. I kept to myself, actually avoided the sisters like the plaque, and helped organize a shed and help one of the nephews leaning out a couple inches of cinders left in the gutters from a roof job by the previous homeowners. It was a mess but the lad needed help. I started running off on a paragraph of what I did but I caught myself defeating the meaning of the verse. A deep meaningful verse in the bible but so slippery keeping focused on it.
I am sure Jesus worked on some roofs in his day being a carpenter.
Sounds like a fun day 🙂
Reblogged this on importantstuff and commented:
Keeping our fous on living the way Jesus lived. Humbly and with solid purpose for doing the will of our Father in heaven.
Truth! Reblogged at importantstuff.live with comment: “Keeping our focus on living the way Jesus lived. Humbly and with solid purpose for doing the will of our Father in heaven.”
Thank you!
Reblogged this on New Christianity.