Mind Your Own Business (1 Thess. 4:11b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/20/2014 8:33 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Mind Your Own Business

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Thessalonians 4:11b

            Message of the verse:  “and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you,”

            In John MacArthur’s commentary on this section he writes that it is not sure if this exhortation was given to all the Thessalonian church or just a certain part of the body in Thessalonica.  In the Greek language and culture we find this statement many times, but only this time in the NT.  Perhaps he was giving this to one portion of the church for he writes the following in 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 “11  For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.”  The reason for these verses is because there were people who were not working and just decided to freeload off other believers so that they could go out and tell others of the soon return or our Lord Jesus Christ.  I have mentioned this in an earlier SD that it is good to tell others about the certain return of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we are not to continue to bug people about this.  We have to be lead of the Lord to people who are ready to hear the truth of the Word of God.  I see nothing wrong with passing out tracts to people as the Lord my use them to begin a spark in their lives to the truth of the saving knowledge of our Lord, but not to bug people to the point of being obnoxious. 

            John MacArthur finishes his commentary on this subject with the following paragraph:  “Paul’s antidote for such unwise, undisciplined behavior was that the Thessalonians work diligently and faithfully at their jobs (cf. Proverbs 27:23-27; Gal. 6:5; Eph. 4:28; 6:5-7; Col. 3:22-24; 1 Tim. 6:1-2), stay out of other people’s business, and lead quiet, unobtrusive lives that serve fellow believers and glorify the Lord before unbelievers.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I really need to follow this advice.

6/20/2014 8:52 AM