January 22
1 Thessalonians 4.9-12
9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Paul keeps up the message of loving others as we follow Jesus. Here he teaches the church about being disciples, as he follows Jesus as a disciple as well. While we might look for something specific about how we love people, he really only gives us two broad statements of things we do that love people. And they are still quite helpful. Mind your own business and work with your hands.
I have kept passing these statements by, not seeing how relevant they are. Imagine the peace in our world if more people could mind their own business. Not that we don’t have concerns about others. Not that we don’t ask how life is going and care about the concerns of life. Minding our own business, as in we don’t try to direct or control how another lives. We don’t get into gossiping or slander of others. We simply care about others.
And working with our hands. Some of us have jobs that are not as much hands. He doesn’t’ mean we all should work in manual labour. But we might have heard the proverb (not from the Biblical set): Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. When we keep ourselves busy with proper things, we don’t get into the troubles of the idle gossip, looking into others business. We keep busy with the things that are our responsibility.
Next week we will look at some ways we open our mouths for the good of others. But often we first need to show the love of others by not saying so much. Not getting into the place of controlling or directing another. Not placing ourselves as the arbiters of right and wrong. Taking care of our place and our business. So you can take this as I am writing to myself about what I need to do. And if you pick anything up, that is just a bonus. And hopefully we each do that in a way that shows love of the ones around us.
Song – Lord, I Need You
Prayer
Lord, I want to follow you well. Help me to see my place in serving you and your world. Help me to be one who loves you and the people around me. And as I love, may I be changed in my heart so that the way of love is part of my very being. In the name of Jesus, Amen.