A Quiet Life
What causes noise in your life? I recall the 1 year birthday party for one of our kiddos. All was going well, but then the birthday kid became visibly upset and then went into a full on screaming. It was confusing at first because in front of this child was a large piece of cake, but then the source of frustration became very clear. Their cousin had received ice cream and the birthday kiddo had not yet received their ice cream. This frustration over what someone else had created tremendous noise for the new 1 year old, but also for everyone else at the party. I am sure we could name many things this week that caused noise in our own lives. A frustration over what someone else had that boiled over into noise.
I want us to consider this morning that scripture calls us to aspire to live quiet lives rather than noisy lives. In I Thessalonians 4, Paul commends the Thessalonians for how well they are loving one another while urging them to do more. Paul urges this early church:
to aspire to live quietly
to mind your own affairs
and to work with your hands
The overarching charge that Pauls has for the Thessalonians is to stop being restless about what God has not given you, but rather be thankful for and faithful with what God has given you! I would further argue that the noise in our lives does not come from the outside, but noise comes from within. Our eyes see the wealth of others and our mind and heart become dissatisfied with what God has given us. Our portion seems very small and insufficient. The same may be true as you look at someone else’s marriage and you express a longing for a “better” spouse. The same could be said about your job, your car, your children, even your church.
Brothers and sisters, do not look to the world to find quiet and contentment. The world is fallen and reflects the values of human depravity. The world is centered on having your best life now and you being the center of it all. The pursuit of the world and comparison with others will always produce noise in your mind and heart.
So I urge you this morning to live a quiet life, to mind your own affairs, to work with your hands, to be thankful for what God has given you, and to be faithful with what God has given you.
Since our time is short, I will focus on just one of these aspects: To live a quiet life. To live quietly does not mean to give up all hope of joy and satisfaction. Living quietly does not mean you should live an austere and monk-like life. It actually means something else. To live a quiet life means to be less frantic but not less exuberant. We should be less frantic about what we do not have AND we should rejoice and be exuberant about what God has given us! The quietness we are to have is a peace in our soul that says: God knows my needs, he is a good and generous father who gives me good gifts. And the gifts He has given me are to be enjoyed and used for my good, for the good of others, for the spread of the Gospel and to the praise of God’s glorious grace.
Brothers and sisters I urge you to quiet the noise in your soul that comes from longing for what others have, and pursue a quiet life that comes from being thankful for and enjoying what God has given you.