We urge you, brothers and sisters, 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:
Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. Proverbs 26:17
My words…
It always amazes me how Your words, written millennia ago, remain applicable today. Just as there were those wearing loincloths, animal skins, and togas butting their noses into other people’s business and causing a ruckus, so it goes today. A different look, but the same outlook. Paul through the Holy Spirit, writes it should be my ambition and that of every follower of Jesus to live a quiet life and mind our own beeswax. I shouldn’t step onto the path of someone else’s journey, point a finger and incite a quarrel. It’s dangerous behavior, and it may come back to bite me like a stray dog pulled by the ear.
Weighty wisdom. Lightly followed.
As You are painfully aware, Lord, there’s never been a time in history where so much information has been shared between so many people. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing because it’s plastered all over the World Wild Web. When I view someone caught on video, rushing into a quarrel, pointing a finger, shouting unwanted opinions, I know there’s an invisible, mangy, snarling canine in their grip. If they could see it, they would be forced to re-think their actions—quickly.
Then I turn my eyes on me. I’m not one to rush, point, and shout. It’s too physically draining. I wouldn’t spend the energy. But what about in my mind and spirit? I rush in to silently criticize and analyze how I would do things differently. In essence, I think I know more than they do about their situation. What hubris! It’s a pride issue for those who do it vocally, and it’s a pride issue for me. I grab the dog by the ear. I ask for Your forgiveness. I know I will receive it. Then I need to steer clear of the stray dog.
I wonder what it would feel like to live in a place where everyone lived a quiet life, minded their own business, worked with their hands, and won the respect of outsiders. A lot fewer dog bites. That’s for sure.
