Aspire to Live Quietly

“Aspire to live quietly, and mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you. So that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent upon no one.” 1 Thess. 4:11-12

“Live loud!” the pastor yells! “Make a splash! Change the world! Do something big! Make your life count!” He screams. The Apostle Paul comes over and throws his arm around you and whispers “Don’t do that. There is a better way.”

When I was in high school, I was given an ideal of what a successful life by my teachers. Success always included “My passions” and was almost always “Out there.” No matter what you did “Out there” you had made it. For some insane reason, a man or woman who was “Living their dreams” in the city were the ones making it big.

I remember a group of us sitting around at lunchtime in discussing were talking about what we were going to do after we graduated. We were high-school so I’m the conversation was robust. How about I just give an example of the quality of this conversation. We felt so sorry for this one loser whose dad owned an HV/HC business. He was going to have to start making good money right out of school and then take over the business at 25. In unison, we all hung our heads in sorrow for him.

In the movie Zootopia, there is a scene at the beginning of the film in which the dad and mom bunny are walking with the kid bunny. The parents were giving her life advice and suggesting their daughter not go to the city to chase her dreams. Instead, they proposed staying, and in their words, she should “Settle.” Keep in mind, the dad and mom bunny had a huge farm and family and seemed to be doing quite well. The viewers are supposed to be appalled at the idea that anyone would desire a life like daddy and mommy bunny. Why would anyone want to settle for a thriving farm and a big happy family?

Twenty years later I am still unlearning how life works. As a church planter, the worldview I receive is very much in line with what I learned in Jr. High and High School. Much of what I hear in Pop Church Planting culture is about swinging for the fences and being big and doing it now! That mentality is labeled “ambition.” But “Ra Ra” ambition is faux. What you and I need is the real McCoy!

Paul speaks. He tells us “Aspire to live quietly.” Real men and women with true ambition are aspiring to live quietly. While everyone else is swinging for the fences, the truly ambitious are honing and perfecting their skills and calling. Real ambition is built for the long haul, not just three years. Ambition looks like waking up early and taking responsibility for this day. P.J. O’Rourke said, “Everybody wants to save the world, but nobody wants to help mom with the dishes.” Yet it’s those who commit to cleaning dishes who end up changing the world.

Living quietly has nothing to do with the volume of voice or not moving to the city. It has everything to do with submission to Christ and a commitment to becoming the man or woman God has made you be over a lifetime. The quiet life is built and measured over decades.

Paul continues to whisper wisdom. “Mind your own affairs son.” It’s interesting to me how many people have opinions about everything. Pundits abound. Those who mind their own affairs are few. A peculiar person indeed is the one who holds their tongue in 2018. A hermit comes to mind. Wisdom is rarely found in the wave of popular option. The man or woman who minds their own affairs has wisdom that the world does not. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul is calling us to a better way. The one who truly marches to the beat of a different drummer is the one who is secure enough to keep his mouth shut and his hands working.

Which brings us to the next point. Dreams happen not by student loans and city life our endless “Outreach Events”. “Dreams” come true for those who commit to working with their hands. Most people dreams are pipe dreams because of a lack of willingness to work. We want it all now! But Christians are called to work with our hands, even if it is typing. Hard work is a part of life. Work fails to give identity, but work can give us great purpose. Many who deal with depression, do so because they are consumers. If you fail to work and contribute to this world and instead only consume, you will not be happy. Those who know THE WORK has been done, are free to quietly work with their hands trusting God with the results.

The believers in Thessalonica were instructed in this way. So are we. That is if you’re not offended at the implication that you need to be instructed. We have a lot to learn from that old Apostle. Christians are those who live under the instruction and authority of God. Those who know the Grace God has for us are those whose ears should open to instruction and whose hands should be calloused from grateful obedience.

Paul tells us the importance of this way of life. Living the quiet life, minding your own affairs, and working with our hands, help us walk properly toward outsiders. This way of life is different. Submitting dreams to God and trusting Him to provide everything you need is a quiet and radical way to live. Who does that?! Some people, in time, will take note.

Finally, Paul a man of great dependence on Christ and his church, calls us to a life of independence. Distinctions seem to be appropriate at this point. There are two kinds of independence. One is sinful and the other, holy. Sinful independence is when men and women want to live this life apart from God and his people. We don’t want to be like that. That is insane. But this other independence, the kind that Paul is speaking about, we do want to pursue.

Reader, are you living independently or are you sucking the life out of everyone around you? Paul challenges us to be independent. Take care of yourself and work hard. Let no one say of you “He is a lazy freeloader.” Step up and be a holy independent man or woman. Learn how to live and contribute more than you consume. The world needs men and women like this.

Do you want to change the world? Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to make life count? Then learn to live quietly, minding your own affairs, and work hard with your hands. Because of Jesus, we are free from having to make a name for ourselves. You are finally free to live quietly.