Day Five
To Burn Out Or Fade Away
“and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet lifeand attend to your own business and work with your hands,just as we commanded you,”
1 Thessalonians 4:11
Why is it important to lead a quiet life? Doesn’t God want us to stand up against injustice and to loudly denounce sin? Doesn’t God want us to loudly praise His name and loudly proclaim the good news from every street corner and every town square? Are we supposed to live out loud, so others can see the hope that is within us? Well yes and no.
This is when humility enters the picture. Now, don’t confuse humility with passivity. And don’t think that being humble means letting others walk all over you. We are to make quiet lives our ambition because a disciple of Christ does not stir up contention. A disciple of Christ does not cause chaos and confusion. A disciple of Christ quietly waits, is silent when others are loud, clanging cymbals, and is still when others are restless.
Quiet lives distinguish a true disciple from someone just looking for another cause to fight for. Quiet lives distinguish between those who are selfishly promoting their own agenda and those who are silently following the agenda set forth by God. In the business world and in other places, it is said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. But is God’s reality, it is the one who waits, it is the one who sits silently upon God that gets the blessing.
Application: Are you quiet in your assurance? Is your ambition for life to burn out or to fade away?