"Do All You Can to Live a Peaceful Life"
Do all you can to live a peaceful life.
Take care of your own business,
and do your own work as we have already told you.
If you do, then people who are not believers will respect you,
and you will not have to depend on others for what you need.
(1 Thessalonians 4: 11, 12)
The search for a peaceful life seems like a common event on the agenda of many of our lives. After so many attempts to figure out the secrets and short routes for a life of peace, we end our search with a simple realisation that the desired result doesn't come effortlessly. You need to work towards it. You need to put in hard work towards making the conditions and surroundings of your life peaceful. Well, the much-wanted peace in our lives takes all our effort.
Paul the Apostle's first letter to the church in Thessalonica begins with much appreciations of the believers and their life of faith. But as we move through the following chapters, we find some of the portions to be hard; portions that boldly point out and suggest some of the strictest Christian disciplines in the early church. And the passage we have chosen today to meditate on is one of them.
Paul addresses one of the most common questions we may have even at present - "How can I live a peaceful life?" The answer is very direct. "Do all you can to live a peaceful life!" Let it be your personal disciplines of your everyday habits, your relationship with others, your level of contribution to the society you live in, your love for others, your care, your work, your choices, your everything! In all that you do, "do all that you can to live a peaceful life." Isn't that a brainstorm-igniting phrase? All these days we thought there were secrets and short routes for a sense of peace, and here we find Paul laying one of the foundations of the Christian idea of "a peaceful life." We are called to put in all our efforts. We are invited to take initiatives. We are encouraged to continue working on the progress towards peace.
But as we look a bit deeper into Paul's encouragement towards living a peaceful life, we find that it doesn't stop there! Paul stresses on 'individual integrity.' Paul says "Take care of your own business, and do your own work as we have already told you." Yes. It is important that everyone takes care of her/his own business. The words do not mean that we have to be ignorant of others or it doesn't mean that we need not care about others. The meaning is very clear in its sense. Each person has to do his/her work with diligence and integrity.
When each individual in the church or in the society minds and takes care of her/his work properly, surely there is very much a space for each person's peaceful life. When everyone does his/her work with diligence and care, there are no mistakes, no procrastination, no arrears, no stress, no shouting at others and not many worries. When members of a group take care of their work and do it with integrity, there is no need for anyone to be affected negatively. Thus we find, the effort towards a peaceful life is not only in our personal efforts but also in remembering that our individual diligence would contribute towards the peaceful life of everyone.
Paul mentions two rewards for those who put in all the effort towards a peaceful life and maintain self-integrity towards the common good. One is, he says when we do as suggested, "people who are not believers will respect you" and the other is that "you will not have to depend on others for what you need." Isn't it a great realisation, and ultimately aren't these two of our biggest stress factors?
As Christians, when we "do all we can to live a peaceful life" and "mind our own business" towards giving our fullest contribution to the people and surrounding that we live in, we are respected. Respected for the efforts. Recognised for our hard work. And more than anything, Christ Jesus, who strengthens and guides us through all these phases of efforts and progress is glorified. And those who take initiatives and efforts towards finding peace in their lives, and those who work diligently with integrity will never need to depend on others for what you need. You have earned what you deserve and through God's richest blessings He blesses you with all that is promised for you.
I pray that God will lead each of us towards our search for a peaceful life. Let us kneel before God every day as we trust Him to lead us in the entire progress. Let us do all the best we can towards seeking peace in our lives. Let us be active seekers than being passive finders. And let us also remember to do our own work, our portion of contribution to the society we live in, with utmost dedication and integrity. And then the rewards are surely given. God's name will be glorified! May the blessings of God our Father, the grace and love of Christ Jesus the Son and the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit be with all of us.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"Make me a servant, humble and meek"
by Maranatha Singers
