1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NLT
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
How is that for a goal?
Not flashy by the world’s standards, though.
The Bible says a lot about goals, but it doesn’t reflect what the world would consider the objectives we should set.
But that is where the rub is, right?
We have the ideas the world would have us look at compared to the way that God wants us to consider looking at things.
“Make it your goal to live a quiet life,”
This statement doesn’t line up with what we see in the world of reality TV shows that we find assaulting our senses every night on TV.
Consider your life for a moment when you enter the room is all about you every time or most of the time, or do you make it about focusing on the needs of the people in the place you are entering.
John 15:13 NLT
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:17 NLT
This is my command: Love each other.
“Love each other.” Our role is to love the other person; the other person’s part is out of your control; God is in control of that, don’t make this conditional on what the other person does.
“minding your own business and working with your hands“
Wouldn’t this be refreshing?
So I make this my goal, finding ways to be sensitive to the needs of the people in my household, in my business environment, in the church, and in my neighborhood.
We are getting involved, trying to personally pitch in to get the work done instead of sitting behind everyone being a critic on how everyone else is doing things.
What is a positive by-product of living and working like this?
“Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live,”
How about that, that is a little different than going out and getting yours, right?
When we focus on bringing the talents we have that positively affect the world around us to bear in the world, there will be a result.
A result that others will appreciate.
“and you will not need to depend on others.”
Have you been disappointed because you were relying on another person to come through with something, and they didn’t?
It’s time to change that today. Our provision and everything we depend on has to come from our sovereign God.
When we start putting any level of our happiness into the hands of another human being, we are setting ourselves up for heartache.
There is a level of peace that we receive when we can start to reconcile with this.
Matthew 6:33 NLT
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Living this way doesn’t mean that we don’t work with people or collaborate on things with others; what this means is that we focus on our contribution, make the objectives clear with the people that we are working with, but how it works out, is entirely in the hands of God.
When we communicate hurt feelings to another person, we need to be conscious of our motives; if our reasons are to change another person’s behavior, this is a form of manipulation.
It says something like this, “You don’t want me to be upset like this anymore, so please change what you are doing.”
And a very unhealthy pattern can arise from this entirely dictated by your mood to the other person when they don’t do what you feel is right; it is a form of mental manipulation.
If we care for the other person, we will give them patience and room to grow. And if they care about us, they will look for ways to be better for us. And this is an upward spiral that continues until Jesus calls us home or He comes and gets us.
Colossians 3:13-15 NLT
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I pray, Lord, that You give me the spirit of compassion for those around me.
I pray that Your Word continues to stir my heart to bring me closer to You and that my relationship with You continues to produce the desire to serve those around me in a loving, compassionate way.
I thank You for the challenges that You provide to grow my capacity to serve You through serving those around me.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
