Saturday, August 29, 2009

The Value of a Quiet Life

"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" (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

God values quietness in his people--not in the sense that we are to be silent, but in the sense that we are to be people seeking peaceful and calm lives. We don't need to be going through life looking for problems in the lives of others (especially when we are ignoring our own). We don't need to go around looking for arguments. We don't need to be seeking unnecessary conflicts. We don't need to be spreading gossip and offering unsolicited opinions on every subject under the sun.

Christians will face conflicts, problems, tension, rumors, and other disruptive elements in our lives--just as Jesus Christ and his apostles did. When such problems arise, we will attempt to handle them appropriately. But our goal is to lead a quiet life of responsible behavior that honors the one in whom we have placed our trust.

No comments: