Wednesday, August 2, 2017

I Thessalonians 4:11,12 – “Quietness and Minding My Own Business”


As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

… But we are urging you, brothers, to abound more and more, 11and to make it [your] ambition to be quiet, and to mind your own [business], and to work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12that you might walk becomingly toward those outside, and [that] you might have need of nothing [or no one].

Interesting here that the Lord tells us to “make it our ambition” to be quiet and to mind our own business. It is a good thing with the Bible to pause over words and ponder them. In this case, I’m looking at this word “philotimos.” “Make it your ambition” is a good modern translation. The old KJV translated it “study.” The word expresses the idea that I have set my heart on some goal and that, with determination, I steadily work toward it. It almost always has a positive connotation.

What if we were to do a “fill in the blank?” What if we asked ourselves, or a whole group of Christians for that matter, to fill in the blank, “God wants us to make it our ambition to __________.” What would you write in there? Would we not all be surprised to hear that the correct answer was “to be quiet and mind your own business?” Really? I can almost hear the “Yeah, buts.” No “yeah, but.” That is God’s answer.

Looking at this verse, I ran across an interesting quote from an old English minister, H. J. W. Buxton: “In religious work preeminently we are called upon to be quiet. There are some Christians who make a great noise. Their religion seems to be formed on the model of the earthquake, and the whirlwind, and the fire, and knows nothing of the ‘still small voice.’ They have to learn that in ‘quietness and confidence’ lies their strength. In these hurrying excitable days this is more important than ever.” Note he says, “Their religion seems to be formed on the model of the earthquake.” Would that not be a fitting description of typical “ministry” today? “Hurrying and excitable days.” I remember one older minister I knew who had seemingly lived his life like a tornado, supposedly because he was so ambitious for the kingdom of God. Yet he confided to me one day, “We have neglected prayer … and it shows.”

As Buxton quotes, God says, “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isa 30:15). I’m drawn once again to Martha and Mary. Martha was the living embodiment of Christian “ministry” today: busy, busy, busy, to the point she even told Jesus, “Make my sister help me!” Yet what was Jesus’ answer? “Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.” Mary “sat at His feet, listening to what He said.” In Martha’s eyes, her sister was indolent. “How can we get all this done, just sitting at His feet like that?” It made no sense to her – just like it makes no sense to us today. If something’s worth doing, then we need to be busy at it, even frantic – that’s how we’ll “get it done.” Yet God says, “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” “Be still and know that I am God.”

I can still hear the “yeah, buts.” I’m sure Martha was full of them.

Can I say at this point, this is exactly why I study the Bible? Martha’s mentality makes perfect sense – to all of us, I think. And that is what we honestly think is right. Yet, if we pause over the Bible and actually ponder what it says, we find it teaches quite the opposite. As Elijah had to learn, “God is not in the tornado.”

I’m sure, for myself, this is part of my problem – why, even at work, I think I have to live in such a froth. I think the way to get “a lot” done is to go at it like a prairie fire. I think of the words of F.W. Farrar: “Let us remember always that the world is in God's hands, not in the devil's, and not at all in ours.” “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” “For without Me, you can do nothing.” I’m reminded of Martin Luther who was reported to have said, “I am so busy today, I think I’ll spend three hours praying!”

“Be quiet and mind your own business.”

Yeah, but …

Sorry. No “yeah, but.” The Lord Himself tells us to make it our ambition to be quiet and mind our own business.

As I am trying to actually practice “being quiet,” one of the challenges I see is that other people expect us to live in a froth. Whether it is at church or at work, if you’re “really doing your job” you should be living at full tilt, busy from morning to night, feverish, even frantic. Being “quiet” runs the risk of appearing as if you’re doing nothing. Of course some people might say they’re being “quiet” when in reality they are in fact just lazy – but that isn’t what we’re talking about. I think it is a matter of learning how to stay quiet inside even as I do get done the things I must do. God still says, “And whatever you do, work at it with your whole heart, as working for the Lord and not for men …” (Col 3:23). God still wants us to be hard workers – again, I think the challenge is to learn to work hard while staying quiet inside. Working hard apparently doesn’t have to mean working frantically.

And of course there is the “mind your own business.” That is probably worthy of eight or ten posts of its own. But, for now at least, I feel like that is something I’ve been working on for years – to keep my focus on what I am or am not doing and not get frothed about what others might or might not be doing. I’m sure there is a great deal more for me to learn, but for now, and for myself, I know I really need to work on the “being quiet” part of this verse.

As I’ve said earlier, for me this last year has been a much more pleasant life, not worrying myself sick over every little disaster. But now, adding this element of “being quiet” has made these last few days even more pleasant. Can I say that these last few years I feel like I’m finally learning the things that really matter to God and the things that really change me very deeply from the inside out. The Lord is so good. As one young man exclaimed, “When the Lord got me, He got ripped off!” … Yep. Pretty much. But thankfully His name is Jesus, for “He shall save His people from their sins.” “He who begun a good work …” It is amazing to me how knowing Him, drawing near to Him, learning from Him doesn’t so much mean big, loud activity in my life, but rather the very slow, very kind, very gentle changing of the very depths of who I am, and changing me in ways that I myself am very thankful for – taking away my ridiculous immaturities and self-destructive habits. I only hope somehow I really am His message to the world written “not on stone but on the fleshly tablet of a human heart.”

He is soooo good. I wish everyone could know Him. Guess I’d better get busy “being quiet and minding my own business!”

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