Years ago when I was in middle school, I had a teacher that made us write 1 Thessalonians 4:11 repeatedly as a punishment. Needless to say, 1 Thessalonians 4:11 is a verse that I know all too well. The exhortation that we are given in these verses is to walk in honesty. In verse 12 Paul encourages the Thessalonian believers to ‘walk honestly toward them that are without.’ These means to walk ‘becomingly’ or ‘properly’. In other words, we are to live in such a way that we do not discredit our faith in front of the unbelieving world. The way we live should reflect who we are. Therefore, the world around us should see the difference that the Gospel has made in our lives. Paul also mentions that as we walk honestly, we may also ‘lack nothing.’ The basic principle here is that we are to take care of ourselves. We are to work hard to provide for our family so that we do not have to beg or borrow from others in the world, which can bring harm to our testimony. The real question is simply: How do I live in such a way? How do I walk honestly or properly? The answer is found in verse 11.
Study to be quiet. Paul is encouraging the believers at Thessalonica to make it their ambition to live a quiet life. I am afraid for many of us our ambition is just the opposite. We tend to aspire to live a busy and boisterous life. It is a sad reality that many followers of Christ tend to gravitate toward unrest and conflict. Such gravitation is worldly. It is not becoming of one who calls himself a Christian. As one Commentary suggests, “Worldly ambition excludes quietness and prompts to restlessness; so that the apostle’s admonition really is, “that ye be ambitious not to be ambitious.” The unrest which disturbed the peace of the Thessalonian Church was not political, but religious; it arose from the excitement naturally occasioned by the entrance of the new feeling of Christianity among them. It would also appear that they were excited by the idea of Christ’s immediate advent. This had occasioned disorders, and had caused several to neglect their ordinary business and to give themselves over to an indolent inactivity.”[1] When we become spiritually lazy and neglect spiritual disciplines, we will find ourselves preoccupied with the affairs of the world. This leads us to anything but a quiet life. It causes us to be irritable and frustrated and that irritability and frustration will begin to find its way into the church. Therefore, Paul encourages us to aspire to lead a quiet and peaceful life. One that is focused on living for the Lord rather than being consumed by the things of this world. My friend, there is nothing more precious than a peaceful life. Free of stress and worry and fear. Free of conflict amongst ourselves. Such a life is possible when our hope is in Christ. However, it is when our eyes are focused on this life rather than on eternity, our peace is disrupted. If you find yourself gravitating toward conflict and unrest. If your life is full of stress, worry, and fear. I encourage you to slow down. Revaluate your life and consider what is most important. Take time to focus on your walk with God. Get your eyes off of yourself and this world and get your eyes on Jesus. Learn to relax and rest in Jesus and live a quiet and peaceful life.
Do your own business. Paul certainly does not mince words. He tells the Thessalonian believers to mind their own business. Warren Wiersbe said, “Believers who are about the Father’s business (Luke 2:49) do not have the time—or desire—to meddle in the affairs of others.”[2] A point of clarity is needed here. This admonishment to mind your own business is not suggesting a lack of holding one another accountable. We are to look out for one another and to be involved in each other’s lives. However, the point Paul is making is that as follower of Christ, we should not grow idle in our walk with God which leads us to unrest and conflict. Instead, we are to focus on our own walk with the Lord. We are to focus on our own faithfulness. It is in doing so that we become a help to others rather than a hindrance. Most conflict occurs in the church when we grow idle in our personal spiritual growth and we begin to involve ourselves in matters that is really not our concern or at the least is not things that are essential. When we get caught up in bickering and arguing over nonessentials, it is a sure sign that we are not living a quiet and peaceable life that is focused on our personal walk with God. Someone who minds their own business is one who chooses battles wisely. One thing I always try to practice is to ask myself, “will this matter a year or five years from now?” In other words, is winning a certain argument or getting my way in this moment going to matter in the long run? Let’s be honest, most of the things we argue over isn’t worth a hill of beans. Therefore, Paul encourages us to aspire a quiet and peaceful life by minding our own business and focusing on what matters most rather than getting caught up in things that are not really essential to the mission that God has called us to.
Work with your own hands. Paul here is not necessarily praising manual labor, but rather encouraging the church to be faithful in the work that God had gifted them for, whether it be manual labor or some other professional occupation. Fausset and Brown says, “The Thessalonian converts were, it thus seems, chiefly of the working classes. Their expectation of the immediate coming of Christ led some enthusiasts among them to neglect their daily work and be dependent on the bounty of others. The expectation was right in so far as that the Church should be always looking for Him; but they were wrong in making it a ground for neglecting their daily work.”[3] It is said that we are to be careful to not be so Heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good. We should live in anticipation of the return of Christ while at the same time living our days on earth as if life on earth will continue for years to come. A belief in the soon return of Christ does not free you from caring for your family. You cannot have the attitude that because Jesus is coming again then I’m not going to work hard and invest and save to provide for my family and future generations. Paul mentions in verse 12 that one of the reasons we should work with our hands is so that we are not dependent on others. As Christians we should not be the ones begging from others due to our lack of work. Rather, we should work in such a way that we are able to be the ones to help others in need.
It is good for us to relax and aspire to live a quiet and peaceable life as we focus on our own business and work with our own hands rather than gravitating toward unrest and conflict. It is in living such a way that our love also abounds. Such a life of peace enhances our testimony and our witness in the world as those outside the church see our good behavior. Learn to stay calm and focus on the business to which God has called you and work faithfully with your own and hands and see the blessing of the Lord cover your life.
[1] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). 1 Thessalonians (p. 75). Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 178). Victor Books.
[3] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 389). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Pastor Chris Noland 