True love is practical.
By nature, we all struggle with true love. We want to be loved but we do not want to have to put ourselves out in order to love. We see this in marriages, in families, in neighborhoods and yes, even in churches. To love means to take our eyes off ourselves for a little while.
We love because God is love. We love each other because people are created in the image of God and are by nature valuable. We love because Jesus loves and He calls us to follow His example. We love because it is the right thing to do.
DEVELOP A HOLY AMBITION
Paul tells us to, “11 make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, “Paul could have said, “adopt this vision for your life” or “make this the purpose statement of your life”. Let us be honest, it is not exactly what we would have expected in a “purpose statement”.
3 mandates…..
1)To Lead a Quiet Life ***
He encourages us to lead a quiet life. That seems like an odd command doesn’t it? Shouldn’t we be more vocal? Isn’t there a greater need for Christians to be bold in our faith? I don’t believe Paul is advising us to stop sharing our faith whenever and however we can. Instead, I think Paul may be addressing three different problems.
The first is that we should be quiet rather than hurried. This is the spirit of busyness that keeps us always running and never taking the time to rest in, or trust the Lord. In this case, the quiet life is the one that refuses to be governed by calendars and schedules but instead governs their calendars and schedules by the Lord.
Second, we should be quiet rather than anxious. Instead of constantly being upset about the circumstances of life, we should be people who trust that God is in control, He loves us, and He will never make a mistake. It is the quiet that comes from perfect trust.
Third, we should be quiet rather than obnoxious. Paul wants us to be steady rather than fanatical in the way we live our lives. You’ve met these fanatics haven’t you? They may be excessively zealous about politics, sports, faith or any number of things. When you see these people coming you generally want to hide. These people push everyone away because they are so aggressive. Obviously, this kind of attitude is harmful to the advancement of the gospel.
2) To Mind Your Own Business
The second thing we are to strive for is to “mind our own business”. How often have you wanted to say this to someone? When people ask nosey questions, when they butt into private conversations, and when they give unsolicited advice, we would love to say, “Mind your own business”! Since in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians he talks about busybodies this may be what he has in mind here. He wants people to stay out of other people’s business.
There is a positive side to this also. By minding our own business, Paul may be encouraging us to focus our energies on what God has called US to do. Instead of criticizing what other people aren’t doing, are doing, or should be doing; we are better served by focusing on what God wants us to do. Instead of being concerned about the rate of spiritual growth in someone else, we should be working on our own spiritual maturity. We should be developing our own relationship with Jesus Christ.
I don’t mean to imply that we shouldn’t care about other people. I don’t mean we should not care about the growth of the people around us. We are brothers and sisters in Christ of course we should care. However, instead of putting all the focus on other people we should work hard at our own spiritual lives. We must combat the tendency to sit on the sidelines while we criticize what someone else is doing.
So here’s the question: when was the last time you stopped complaining about others and asked, “What is it that God wants ME to do for the building of His Kingdom?” If we all did what God wanted us to do, we would be as effective as a well-tuned engine.
3) To Work with Your hands
The third thing Paul tells us is that we should make it our ambition to work with our hands. Paul is not saying we should all desire to be blue-collar workers. He is simply telling us that people should earn their own living. In other words, we should not be a drain on society. We should not be people who are always looking for a handout. We should not be those who expect to be given things we did not earn. We should resist the “entitlement” mentality.
It is possible that there were people who believed Jesus was surely coming soon as they neared the end of the first Christian generation. Some believe that there were people in Thessalonica who quit their jobs (in order to serve the Lord more fully) and were now proving to be a drain on the Christian community.
Listen to the word of God
Proverbs 24:33-34 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— 34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
Paul says believers should be “pulling their own weight”. We should be people who work hard understanding that we are serving the Lord. People who “work the system” are no different from the scam artists we all hate.
Why is it so important to work? Is it because this is the way we earn our salvation? No. We aren’t made right with God by doing the right things but by entering into a vital and living relationship with Jesus Christ. We are saved because we turn to Him alone for salvation and new life. We cannot now or ever earn our salvation by our good deeds.
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If we keep working at loving each other and work hard to be people who are quiet, focused on doing what we can do, and who give our best to our jobs, Paul tells us what will happen.
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We will win the Respect of people observing our actions
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Think about the people you respect the most. Who is it that you admire? Why do you admire them? I would venture to suggest that for most of us, we admire and respect the people who are just as Paul describes. They are people who genuinely care, but aren’t pushy or nosey. They are steady, consistent and dependable. Most of these people will “fly beneath the radar” of life. They don’t make a lot of noise when they enter a room but their impact is unmistakable. People are drawn to them, not so much because of their arguments, but because of their character. Most likely these are people who work hard. They are not working for the money; they work because they take pride in their work. They are working for the Lord. These are the kind of people Paul says we will become if we pay attention to what he is saying. Though none of these things are flashy; people will notice. It may not make you popular, but it will earn you respect.
So please examine your own heart. Are you a follower of Christ or are you merely a consumer of religion? Is your confidence in Him or in what you believe you can do in your own strength? Are you diligently serving God, or are you just a heckler on the sidelines? Are you a giver or a taker? Do you love others or do you just expect others to love you?
These are important questions. Please take some time to examine your mission statement or vision for life. Compare it with the vision of Paul and then make whatever corrections are necessary. We are Christians who walk our own path yet are not an island to ourselves. We must mind our own business yet make our example one that Paul would approve of if he were to witness it. Cliques, factions, backbiting, and gossip are not approved. Minding our own business and sharing the word as it works in our own lives is approved. Let us build this church in it’s new beginning as Paul would have it in Thessalonians.
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