Aspire to lead a calm and peaceful life as you mind your own business and earn your living, just as we’ve taught you. By doing this you will live an honorable life, influencing others and commanding respect of even the unbelievers. Then you’ll be in need of nothing and not dependent upon others.
As I read this passage this morning I became convinced that this was the original American dream. It’s a beautiful and very clear picture of what we are fighting so hard to restore. This is what we desire for our prayers to accomplish. I think what’s happened to the Church in the last 50-60 years is that we’ve focused on the living a quiet life part but not on the influencing others and commanding respect part. We’re living with the consequences of that right now. The calm and peaceful life was never meant to be disengaged from society. When the Bible says mind your own business - it’s not saying disengage from society. It’s saying stop gossiping about your neighbors and stop the petty nonsense. If we want a calm and peaceful life -- it is our responsibility to be engaged and active in an honorable way. This is what we want our advocacy work and truth telling to accomplish. This is what all of the calls to action are for -- so that in our lifetimes and those of our children - we can lead calm and peaceful lives. I believe God is hearing our prayers and we will see a major turnaround in society. So let me issue a strong warning in advance of that even though I’m preaching to the choir -- no matter how great the turnaround of our nation is -- we can never stop being vigilant about the oversight of our government and society. If we do, we will end up right back where we are now.
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