Scripture in 60: I Thessalonians 4:11

LISTEN

NASB:

And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you.

NIV:

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you.

Observations:

This is a section in the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians in which he exhorts them to live in a way that pleases God.

Part of living to please God is living a quiet life. This does not mean we should run from standing for truth in the public square, but it does mean we should not make obnoxious spectacles of ourselves.

Another part of living to please God is minding our own business. Doing our job. Worrying about our own lives and families.

And finally, he says it should be our ambition to work with our hands. In today’s technologically-advanced society, working with hands is far too undervalued.

Takeaways:

Lead a quiet life abiding by the word of God.

Mind our own business. Stick to our area of influence and life.

And work with our hands. Even if working with our hands is not our vocation, it is good practice to find activities to do with our hands.