1 Thessalonians 4:11
..."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,"...NASB
"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,".. NIV
..."and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,"... ESV
..."Stay calm; mind your own business; do you own job." The Message
For most of my adult life, my thoughts and actions, while in true activity or subconsciously was to live a life to provoke as many people as possible to look my way, to notice my life, and be changed by it. Something always felt off, like I had missed the last step in this grand idea staircase.
Thankfully, God in His Omnipotence and Grace allowed this verse to be seen and heard by me. This Truth has invited me to look deeper at my calling, which is how to live out my life for Christ Jesus. What if my desire to share what inspiration I have received looked smaller, private, secret, special, secluded. Even now, the idea of putting these words in an open forum has me guessing if I even understand what this means.
I've grown to have a instant reaction to public posting, public sharing, openly inviting others into my business and seeking to know the depths of theirs.
I've grown to not know what minding my own business looks like, as much of my thoughts are of random peoples lives instead of what is personally around me. I think to much of how I would act, how I would understand, how I would live someone else's business. This brings pride or inferiority, none of which comes from His Spirit.
Freedom reigns within these verses, this way of living, this way of thinking, this way of behaving. Has my worldview broadened so thin, that I have been blinded to the clear Truths that are at my own feet?
As I have been asking God to help me understand what this verse looks like in reality, my heart has started to be drawn to journaling, gardening, paper books, magazines, nature...tangible objects that can be held rather than electronic visions that only exist in the eyes and mind. Seems like my desires have followed working with my hands.
Yet why is there still a desire to share my thoughts with more than just myself. Why do I feel the desire to publish publicly? Why the need to share beyond?
What would my life look like if those artists, writers, and creatives that had been inspired were to keep everything private? My bookshelves would be empty of written words, my walls bare of art, my home without furniture, and a fridge without food. Words are written if not to be shared.
Ah yes, this is the balance. The wisdom to know what should be public and what should be private. A quiet life is one without distractions, stressors, or perhaps without a constant need for more material possessions. A beautifully meek & wild life.
