When the World Lets You Down

Turn to the easy burden of Christ

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, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

I heard this scripture on a podcast, and it is as if it was written for me at that moment. These are the times when I know that the Bible is powerful and that God is listening in on our lives, ready to intervene at the most random moments. Usually, those random moments are more impactful when you are not seeking praying or questioning, just existing, and BOOM! A word from the Lord!

This beautiful passage answers the feeling of being disappointed or unfulfilled by what the world lays before us as goals in life: obscene wealth and meaningless success. The Bible has a different view. The New Living Translation says, “Make it your goal,” meaning this is your compass and true north. The chapter begins with Paul telling the Thessalonians, who were in the midst of persecution from the Roman Empire, “Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God.” The Thessalonians lived in a culture that was completely opposite of pleasing God; the culture worshiped idols and had beliefs and values contradictory to Christianity. So, it was not an easy thing to go against it.

In this culture, they were to make it their ambition (goal) to

1. Lead a quiet life

2. Mind their own business

3. Work with their hands

This will result in them winning the respect of those non-Christians around them and also being independent of the culture. Let’s review these points and how they fit in today’s world.

Lead a Quiet Life

This one is easy to see. We all experience the noise of the post-modern world with social media, division, strife, and economic inequality. There are strong opinions about so many issues and prescriptions about how to live your life that it is a fight to quiet down and hear what pleases God. What does he say? Lead a quiet life. If we are Christians, this is the most important thing.

Paul’s letter was written to the Thessalonians, but we exist in a similar context in Western culture, and increasingly, because of social media, so does the rest of the world. It’s like the new Roman Empire is the Internet. Who has not been touched by it? The ambitions of today are billionaire wealth, the most beautiful body and appearance, the biggest following, and the most likes. We celebrate those who go viral. None of this is quieting for the soul. Much of it is unnecessary and unattainable. What I like about leading a quiet life is that it is very much doable for everyone. It’s an easy goal! But difficult to execute.

Mind Your Own Business

Most of the translations say, “mind your own business,” which is hilarious cheek in our modern context. Basically, don’t worry about what other people are doing; stay out of gossip and meaningless associations. Assess and evaluate your relationships. Which are in need of transitioning out? Which are in need of repair? Which are in need of emulating and setting a standard for all the others. But chiefly, keep your head down and stay in your lane. Which…if we’re honest, is NOT what culture tells us, right? Especially in America, where I sit, we are all to be aspirational to the moon. But for what? And why? What does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul? (Mark 8:36)

Work With Your Hands

Lastly, work with your hands, which I am interpreting for our context, to ensure that your goal is to be financially secure. If something were to happen to your job, are you good? Do you have enough savings? I’m a fan and alumnus of Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. His recommendations are 3-6 months of your monthly expenses as savings. Better yet, have you considered developing a skill you can make money from on the side? Maybe you like to bake, work on cars, build websites, counsel people, or have an eye for design and fashion. All these are marketable skills that you can work on with your own “hands” to develop. Again, the ambition/goal, the great “so that” that we often read in Paul’s writing, is that we win the respect of others and are “not dependent on anyone.” The goal is not to amass great wealth but to be financially secure and independent; again, it is hard but doable!

Wise words to live by: quiet life, stay in your lane, financial independence. The world will give you goals and not tell you what to do after you reach them. It will give you ambition that needs to be fed at an unsustainable pace. It will give you a road map that leads to a dead end. It will sell you faulty dreams. That’s why so many rich people are unhappy. They did “the thing” that they were to do and ended up miserable because it turned out the thing was not it.

Take Out Questions

1. What would happen if you got the thing you’ve always wanted?

2. How are you assessing your spiritual growth?

3. What’s a side hustle or skill you could start working on?

Dear Jesus,

Help us to lead a quiet life,

Removing the weight of the obsessions of our time,

And substituting them for the easy burden and yoke of Christ

Amen