“…to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you…” – 1 Thessalonians 4:11
I am a parent, and there are two things every parent wants: peace and … yes, quiet. I must admit, though, the sounds of family life comfort me. When I hear them, I know I am surrounded by people who love me unconditionally and with whom I can be myself.
For most of us, Paul’s encouragement to the Christians in Thessalonia serves as a great challenge for us: aspire to lead a quiet life. The quiet to which Paul refers, however, has nothing to do with the cacophony of sounds that flood our eardrums, but rather to a life lived as free as possible from strife and drama.
The quiet life, as the rest of the verse describes, minds its own business and occupies itself with its own work rather than worrying about the affairs of others. The quiet life is quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath (James 1:19). The quiet life seeks first to remove the beam from its own eye before trying to remove a splinter from someone else’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5). The quiet life seeks to glorify God in everything it does (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Let me suggest some practices you can begin today that might just help you quiet your life.
- Establish a daily quiet time. Mark 1:35-39 records the first of many occasions throughout the Gospels where Jesus withdrew alone to a quiet place to spend time in prayer. If the Son of God needed to do this, how can one as lowly as I expect to have a quiet life without it?
- Cultivate a quiet heart. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to stop the striving of life long enough to recognize God and humbly submit to Him.
- Make a regular habit of cutting others some slack. We tend to judge others much more harshly than ourselves. The Bible challenges believers to be tender toward and forgiving of each other. (Ephesians 4:32)
You, and you ALONE, hold the key to a life with less drama. Make it your ambition to chill out and be quiet.