1 Thes 4:12 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Paul was giving counsel to the church at Thessalonica, a church that was undergoing hardship and persecution
Not being dependent on anyone…
But there are many to whom this concept is completely foreign. In my informal survey of members of churches from protestant, charismatic, or ecumenical streams, no one has ever heard a sermon on the topic of self-reliance. It seems that to many self-reliance is a truth for a different age, an age where division of labor had not yet arrived, where debt funded prosperity had not yet liberated people from subsistence living. We live in a different age, the rules are different now. But are they?
We know that God does not change. Is 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 still a valid New Testament scripture? Of course it is. It might even be an important truth for us if we should fall into hard times or even persecution like the church at Thessalonica. We assume that tomorrow will always be like today and
yesterday. The sun will rise, the lights will come on with the flick of a switch, the paycheck will arrive, the grocery store shelves will be restocked, and the church service will go on as usual this weekend (in the building we are still trying to pay for). And although we certainly hope for continuity, it is not guaranteed and it is not a tried and true biblical principle.
In fact, Paul takes the church to task for assuming that things will remain the same.
James 4
The reality is that we are not promised tomorrow and Paul advises us to consider the possibility that the Lord may not have a long life planned for us. The implication is that we are here to honor Him (in good times and bad) and that this life is about His Glory, not our comfort or enjoyment.
Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”
Those words were written by Solomon over two thousand years ago, but today our modern society is more fragile than most people realize. Let’s briefly consider one current risk factor as an example of how most of our lives are dependent on factors beyond our control. In the last hundred years the human population has grown exponentially because of the productivity boost made possible by fossil fuels. Most communities cannot supply enough food to feed themselves from their immediate geographic surroundings. Food is now grown with petroleum-based fertilizers, and it is shipped in via transportation powered by oil and gas,and it even takes energy to prepare the food.
Any disruption to the supply of energy would result in a devastating impact that would be very disruptive. The world’s super-powers are aware of this risk and they are now in a mad-scramble to secure oil reserves. This scramble is giving birth to alliances that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. But most consumers, and most believers are blissfully unaware of the serious risk of long term shortages and price escalation for something that has become basic to life on earth. We truly do not know what a day may bring, and most of us haven’t spent any time thinking about how to reduce our reliance on others.
In ancient times, when Joseph learned of Pharaoh’s dream, he could have chosen to believe that the second 7 years would be pretty much like the first 7 years and to do nothing to reduce his risk. Did the Lord tell him to store food? Not directly. Or did Joseph just assess the potential danger and take appropriate action?
Many are vaguely aware of the risks in our society, but they are waiting on “a word from the Lord” before they begin to prepare or reduce their dependence. In fact, the Lord has already spoken in His word extensively about the principles of self-reliance, risk aversion, and prudent preparations. He is waiting on us to obey, while we are waiting for Him to speak.
Proverbs 27:12 “The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”
I totally agree with this mentality and side of our churches daily living. On the other side I do think we need to balance it also with Matthew 6:25-30ish that says not to spend all your time worrying about tomorrow because today…ohhh today…
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6&version=NIV
On the flip side in agreement with you the verse before that in Matthew 6 says you can’t serve 2 masters. So in many ways I feel like the CHURCH has lost its way. Devoted to God but pulled by the culture. Serving two masters is hard to do.
Now I think the challenge is to live unto God each day, aware of the circumstances around us, preparing for the future while allowing God to move us as HE will. Maybe that the balance or tension between Wait/Don’t worry and Run/Hide.
Thanks again for posting. I like to be able to interact with your thoughtful remarks after I’ve had a chance to think about them to…I hope others will join in.
Ian, thanks for opening up the dialogue. I too hope others will comment, even challenge my thinking on these important topics.
I agree with you that it is an interesting balance between having adequate situational awareness and not getting drawn into worry or worse.
I actually find that my level of dependence / vulnerability is related to my level of uneasiness. The consumer who has savings is more secure than the consumer who is barely making minimum payments on a mountain of debt.
To the extent that we have complied with the prinicples of scripture, to that extent we have peace knowing we have done all we can and we trust Him to do the rest. To the extent that our lives and conscience can accuse us of conforming to the patterns of this world as opposed to building our life on the solid rock of the word, to that same extent we have feelings of guilt and inadequacy. I do not think that is the same as worry. It think that better charachterized as godly sorrow that leads unto repentance, that is a change in behavior.
Thoughts?
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I found this article simply by searching Google for the topic. Through my newfound knowledge from God, it has become very apparent to me that we have all become too dependent upon the world. It’s not hard to suspect that it is because of the purpose of evil. But, no matter what the evil-driven world may invent or change, it cannot take away our will to follow God. And as long as we lead our lives accordingly, the world also cannot take away our salvation. The spirit has led me to walking away from all things that aren’t a necessity to God. Television, newspapers, movies, music, and many other things serve no purpose to a God led life. When you go to school, you get tons of useless knowledge shoved into your mind that serves no direct purpose to your Godly life. This is evil. We should only expose ourselves to things we need. Most of our life should consist of work with less emphasis on learning. Fun should be reserved for specific “moments” or a “day off”. But it should not be celebrated.
I must mention that before God revealed Himself into my life, I was leading myself and my family down the road of uncertainty. We were all miserable. Looking back on that now, it makes it even clearer and seemingly tragic for those who don’t have a clue. A life without God is like a person without water. We all seriously do need to set an example for the sake of others. By becoming less dependent upon the world, and more self supporting, we will live a life that others may witness. This would spark the hope that they too will stop feeding the evils of the world, and become more self sufficient. This would inadvertantly bring others closer to a Godly life. Maybe if He was a shorter distance away, then more people would see the Truth.