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
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