MAKE THIS YOUR AMBITION
1 Thessalonians 4:11 NLT
This should be your ambition: To live a quiet life, minding your own business, and working with your hands, just as we commanded you.
Think for a moment. When have you ever heard a message on this passage of Scripture? I dare say most probably never have. Yet this verse offers a powerful prescription for our lives today. It is a divine directive from God. Make this your ambition–to live a quiet, peaceful life, mind your own business, work with your hands.
We live in a loud, noisy, stress-inducing world. Everything shouts at us, demanding our attention. We rush from one thing to the next, filling our schedules till there’s hardly any room at all to even breathe. We possess so many things, requiring so much of our attention, that people have to rent storage units just to store all their stuff! It demands so much of our time, attention, and energy just to take care of all the things we own.
What would it be like to simply mind your own business? What would it be like to stop meddling in the affairs of other people? For the first time in history, Facebook has thrown everyone else’s business right in your face, every single day, multiple times a day, as post after post of other people’s business appears in your feed. It’s noisy, distracting, aggravating, and often causes emotional turmoil as you feel agitated by the posts and comments of others. This not only does not create peace and quiet, but causes mental and emotional turbulence, and disturbance to your soul and spirit. As a result, you find yourself compelled to respond to the foolish statements or comments of others. X and other social media can do the very same thing. The combination of all these things make it impossible for you to live the quiet, peaceful life that God called us to.
This also makes it very difficult to be busy at work with our own hands, to diligently focus and attend to our work. Work can bring such satisfaction to our soul. Keeping our hands busy in something productive is a powerful elixir for life.
So, what do we do? How do we achieve the life God called us to ambitiously pursue?
This divine directive from God is actually the reason for many of my personal faith practices. It’s the reason I intentionally live a simple life, which I consider a practice of my faith.
Here then are things that have been extremely helpful to me in the pursuit of a quiet life, minding my own business, and devotion to my work.
I have always been inspired and motivated by the simplicity of the life of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. Granted, neither of them were married or had children. So of course, my life is not exactly the same. But I have embraced and practiced their simplicity and their non-materialistic living in every way I can. Owning only what is necessary has allowed me to simplify and quiet my life. I have very few clothes. Very few dishes. My wife and I share one vehicle. I intentionally bought a simple, modest home that was easy to take care of, that isn’t a constant distraction to my life. I eat very simple meals. I eat the same things every day. I practice simple, repeatable routines in my daily life for everything. I find a way to simplify every area of my living. I maintain a highly organized and structured life.
A few years ago a young man I was mentoring told me, “Pastor Mark, if you had a smartphone and a Facebook page, I could help you get thousands of followers. I have thousands of followers on my FB and I can show you how.” I told him that I have never had a cell phone or smartphone and never plan to get one, as I see all around me the plain, clear evidence that it is a weapon of mass distraction, intruding into every area of people’s lives. I would personally find it impossible to live a quiet, peaceful life if I owned one. I refuse to let this world squeeze me into its cultural mold. I told him I don’t need thousands of pretend friends. I desire to serve those who truly want to grow in their faith in such a way that I can give them the time, attention, and care they need. He was stunned that I’ve never had a smartphone or cell phone and wondered out loud how I even function. Then he said, “You know, I bet you have a much more peaceful life this way!” Exactly!!!!
I refuse to be drawn into the drama of other people. I refuse to meddle in the affairs of others. I simply want to mind my own business, take care of my own affairs, and let go of the turmoil that other people can cause in my life. Several years ago, I had someone writing emails to me, trying to engage me and draw me into their web of vitriol and emotional garbage. I simply refused. When I saw an email from them I immediately deleted it without reading the contents, as they deliberately intended to create inner turmoil in my soul. Had I read their words, those words would have lived in my brain, causing great emotional and mental turmoil. I refuse to let others do that to me.
Cut out the fools in your life. I refuse to engage with fools, or give them the time of day. As Proverbs 27:3 says—the aggravation and turmoil caused by a fool is heavier than carrying buckets of sand or a large stone.
I stay devoted to the work God has called me to. That is my focus, that is my devotion. That’s what I give my attention to. I strive to do it the best that I can. I try to make the most of each opportunity God gives to me and leave the rest to God.
I keep my mind focused on staying on top of my own business. My marriage, my finances, my responsibilities, my work, my health, my spiritual disciplines. This is how I stay on top of it all, and manage it wisely and effectively.
Humans want to see more, do more, experience more, own more, achieve more, travel more, and on and on it goes. I focus on being thankful, blessed, and content with what I have. I enjoy the simple things of my life. I focus on doing a few things very well, on being faithful with what God has called me to do and embrace the life God has given to me. I have no bucket list!
All these things help produce a quiet, minimally stressful life. They help keep me at peace in the midst of this crazy world. They help keep me on mission to the things God has called me to in my life. The divine directive “work with your hands” has taken on even greater meaning to me over the last 7 years, as God has called me to do so much writing from the “Isle of Patmos” He has put me on now. In fact, writing with my hands has been extremely therapeutic and greatly increased my “quiet.”
This way of life helps to insure that the Word is not choked out in my life, as Jesus spoke about in Mark 4:18, by the world’s cares, the lure of wealth, the desire for nice things, the passions for other interests, and the distractions of this world and all it offers. This is a serious warning given to us by our Lord himself.
Let me urge you to take a step back from your life. Seriously consider ways you can simplify your life. How can you live a more quiet, peaceful life? How can you reduce the drama of others in your life? Have you been meddling in the affairs of others without even realizing it? How can you mind your own business better? Are you faithfully and rigorously practicing your spiritual disciplines? Take time to wisely reflect and consider the powerful truths of this article.
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling