1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
I have been thinking about this bible verse all week.
What does it mean to live a quiet life?
The Bible does instruct us in many places to live a quiet life.1 Thessalonians 4:11, 1 Timothy 2:2.
A quiet life, in my opinion, is not a boring life. It means living a life that doesn’t call attention to self, but it is complete. A life that does not engage in gossips.
Did you know that gossip destroys families, relationships, and people?
In most cases, gossips are not even the truth. Gossips are rumors… Now, even if the stories are indeed true, what business is that of yours? Unless it involves you directly, LET IT GO! Everyone will answer to God himself, and that is that!
Gossip is everywhere, especially in churches. Many people use the phrase: Did you hear what happened to “so and so”? we need to pray for them… bless their hearts…….
Within hours EVERYONE is “praying” yet, not a prayer was said to “so and so “…… How can we pray for others if we spend our time talking about others?
Why do humans engage in gossip? Does it enrich their lives? Is it entertaining? Does it feel good to see what areas in others are still being worked on, especially if ours are in check?
I don’t know the answer to these questions. I might have also engaged in questions such as: How is so and so? When I am bored, I want “To Know” what’s going on, and 100% I am not proud of these conversations.
Yet, it is not up to me to know…. It is not essential…… Unless a brother or sister comes directly and asks for help, it is not my business. When they come to us, they TRUST us, so don’t break that TRUST by telling someone else about THEIR struggles.
To live a quiet life, we need to let go of gossip and spend time with our brothers and sisters in a healthy way. We need to be bold and say: “Please, I do not want to know about this gossip or simply go directly to the person.”
We can start reversing gossip by going to the source if WE REALLY MUST KNOW or just letting it go and letting God.
The notion of mind your own business is a biblical notion that should be followed by all.
Next is working with your own hands. We need to be productive citizens. We need to work. We must keep our minds and hands engaged in a project, not use our mouths as idle people do. This lazy mentality must stop. We need to be productive in society. The notion of a secular job being unimportant to Christians because “they can’t share their faiths” must stop.
I am not saying that we must work outside of the home. Stay-at-home parents are critical in society. They are actually very under-appreciated (I will blog about this another time). Work hard. If you are at home, you are constantly interacting with others, so be a light to those you encounter. Serve your family to the best of your ability.
We are the light of the world. If we put the same effort into our secular jobs as our “Christian duty,” our lives will shine even without us ever opening our mouths.
God loves honest, hard work labor. He loves when we put effort into everything we do.
He ends the verse by saying, “then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live.”
Suppose we are being honest and working hard, and not engaging in gossip. In that case, we will be appreciated not only by our brothers and sisters in Christ but all non-believers as well.
Our integrity, character, love, dedication, hard work are tools for us to share Christ with others.
Please let us, Christians, live a quiet life, mind our own business, work hard so others will respect us, and won’t need to depend on others…..
I pray that God will give me the wisdom to live a life that pleases him. I hope that you, my dear reader, also try to live a life that will please God….
The Bible is there not for us to pick and choose what to do, but it is a survival kit to lead us through life.
Let us truly love one another. Let us help one another. Let us show up every day!
If by chance you hear gossip, reverse gossip, talk about the person’s strengths and accomplishments and what you like about them. It will sure change the conversation.
With love in Christ………
Be inspired to do something great today…..
Raquel
