Articles
Make It Your Ambition
Does the expression “the quiet life” strike you as appealing or dull? Paul actually encourages us to pray for our rulers “that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:2 NASB). In a different context Paul urges Christians “to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands . . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).
Addressing Christians who have too much time on their hands—lazy busybodies—Paul urged them “to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:12).
Aquila and Priscilla were not among those needing Paul’s reprimand. They supported themselves as tentmakers and hosted the church in their home in more than one city. They assisted Paul, helped Apollos, and no doubt aided many others as well.
This godly Christian couple have their counterparts today in members of local congregations who humbly go about their tasks, making no fuss or bother for anyone else. Such people are society’s greatest assets, whether society recognizes that fact or not.
They are among those who help keep our nation from slipping further away from God. They may be largely unknown, but God sees what they do, and He will reward. And don’t we spare ourselves a lot of unnecessary tension when we can learn to live in this way?
In the words of John Greenleaf Whittier’s hymn:
Drop thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of thy peace.
