Living a Quiet Life Should Be Your Ambition
A devotional by Kerry Sue Teravskis
“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to 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 4:9-12 (NIV)
The Bible advises us to make it our ambition to lead a quiet life. Have you ever wondered why this is God’s standard for our lifestyle?
According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, ambition is “a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.”
This sums it up quite nicely and it is evident in our society around us. Climbing corporate ladders, switching jobs to get ahead, moving onto the next thing, networking, hyper-focused individuals who will stop at nothing to get their goals attained. But is this what life is all about? Are we to add to the “dog-eat-dog” world? Are we to clamor up the ladder at the risk of losing some—if not all—relationships, including our one with God? This may sound harsh, but we have all seen this happen, or have been the one left behind, for the sake of ambition.
The Apostle Paul gives us a goal of ambition which is quite shocking: leading a quiet life. Are we to become hermits? Are we to stay away from society, church, family, and work? It would be better to look at Paul’s definition of a quiet life: Mind your own business and work with your hands.
It seems the church in Thessalonica had some busybodies, and Paul was instructing them—and us in this modern era—to leave that life behind. What exactly is a busybody? A person who is busy looking over everybody else’s life. The gossip, news-spreader, the talker. The one who knows everything about everybody and shares the information with others, quite possibly embellishing it to add pizzazz—whether it’s truthful or not.
Is this a sore spot, an area we need to work on? We want to share love and concern for others, but we should not do so to gather information to spread to others. A ‘prayer request’ obtained for the purpose of gossiping is not seeking and pursuing holiness—it is seeking self-gratification. And it does nothing toward our mandate to lead a quiet life.
How can we lead a quiet life in this fast-paced world? Move to a deserted island? Hardly. Or how about ten thousand acres with no neighbors for miles and no Internet connection? Not practical for most of us.
What if we like to be involved in the fray, the community and church? We are given instructions to participate in church and to serve others. But here’s the bottom line: self-control. It takes saying no at times, maybe at others, and much prayer for all. Whether we are at a small church where each member is needed to keep it going, or a large church where many are serving, the principle is the same: Lead a quiet life.
Leading a quiet life can look like this: Choose the one in front of you to encourage at that moment. Pray with someone who asks or one who even doesn’t ask but needs it. Resist the temptation to say yes to one more thing—it is God’s worldwide church and He is capable of putting people where He wants them to be. God asks us to be obedient, not overly committed.
Leading a quiet life could also look like a day spent at home reading your Bible with your hot cup of coffee or tea (or lemonade). Spending time in prayer when on other days prayers seem to be a tag, rather than the main event. Your quiet time could be basking in the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset, working in the garden because you want to, not because you have to. It could be writing a letter, sending a text or calling an old friend just to catch up, and actually listening and enjoying the friendship in those moments.
Paul also gives instructions to work with your own hands—presumably for a job, but also around your own home. Since we are asked to practice hospitality, let’s make our home hospitable. We can make it more cozy, comfy, warm and inviting not just for our family who lives there but our friends and dinner guests.
Years ago, I saw a short video about a woman who had a picnic table in her front yard because she saw a need for a gathering place for her neighbors. It was nothing fancy and definitely not structured. Just a table under a tree. She would make time to just sit there, reading or studying. Pretty soon it became a quiet resting place for the neighborhood. A place for folks to talk, enjoy each other’s company, and share in one another’s joys and sorrows. It became a place of quiet ministry.
Guess who has a picnic table in her front yard? I do! We live on a lonely country road, with minimal traffic, but we put our table out front in our circular driveway. A place for us to have meals, gather and just enjoy the view of our rose garden and a newly planted field of almond trees. Has it become a neighborhood table? Not yet, partly because our neighbors are over half a mile away, and partly because I need to take the time to sit there more often, to encourage the moments. It has been there over a year, and the yellow umbrella is a sweet welcome from miles away, knowing we are almost home.
Would you like to join me as we seek the quiet life in our own neighborhoods, homes, and in our social lives both online and offline?
Let’s Pray: Father God, I do desire to slow down. To stop chasing the elusive “American Dream” because that dream is not really Your dream for me. I want to sit at Your feet and rest there, spending time with You, chatting with You and just sitting quietly in Your Presence. I want to model that in my home, my neighborhood and in my church. I want to be known as a quiet servant of Jesus Christ. Teach me how to become one who prays for others, ministers quietly for others and has the gospel of peace on my feet. In Jesus’s Name I Pray. Amen.
Song of Reflection: “If We Are The Body” by Casting Crowns. Listen to it here.
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Author Bio:
Kerry Sue’s life is very full because she is a wife and Marmee to three adult children—two of whom are married—and a new grandson.
Kerry Sue met her husband in college and served on the mission field with him for a few years before settling down back in the United States of America to raise their family.
Kerry Sue’s family was a homeschooling family for 20 years and they enjoyed it immensely. For the last 24 years they have lived on a small farm in Northern California where they have raised many farm animals, along with growing and preserving their food. Kerry Sue’s family farm has been a great source of enjoyment and a place to host many family gatherings. She maintains an open-door policy for dear friends—old and new.
Following and serving Jesus Christ is an integral part of Kerry Sue’s life as well as her family’s. Whether it’s singing in the church choir, teaching children or leading and lecturing at a women’s Bible study, Kerry Sue loves to demonstrate her love for Jesus by giving to Him in service. She’s been a blogger for more than eight years, a Bible study writer for four years, and a devotional writer for more than two years.
Kerry Sue feels led to write about finding God’s Sovereignty in our suffering because of her own ongoing journey of more than four years, with the hope to encourage others.
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Connect with Kerry:
Blog: https://www.sovereignblog.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerry.teravskis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ksteravskis/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sovereignblog
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