“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, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Andrea Palpant Dilley in an article entitled “Suburbia Needs Jesus, Too” writes: “In my early 20s, I lived by this vision. I served the urban homeless, worked with welfare families and volunteered with orphans in the slums of Nairobi. I beat my fists against my chest in a spiritual war cry for global justice and swore never to set foot in the insular space of suburbia. Nominal, consumer Christians lived in suburbia, I thought. Real Christians were out on the frontlines fighting for great causes. Then I got married, had kids, and settled down in a cookie-cutter neighborhood of Austin, Texas, where I found myself forced to rethink what it meant to follow Christ and serve humanity in the context of the suburbs.
I'm still trying to figure it out. My days are filled with activities that would make David Platt yawn with boredom: I change diapers. I scrub pee out of carpets. I wipe vomit off the kitchen floor. Most days, I'm lucky to get out of the house at all, and if I do, I'm usually taking my 10-month-old and 4-year-old to visit the elderly woman down the street. We take dog treats to her yippy dog, sit at her kitchen table eating pretzels and ask about her arthritis. What greater good do I serve? My widowed neighbor feels less lonely. My kids learn about hospitality and Christian love. That's about it.
From the outside, the life of mothers may look unremarkable, and yet I've come to believe—had to learn to believe, actually—that our mundane actions have profound purpose if we take a long view of both our own lives and the life of the world. We're raising our kids and rearing up the next generation of leaders.”
The Lord is honored when we quietly serve Him. Today in prayer, give thanks to Jesus for the quiet moments of each day.
“O God, make us children of quietness, and heirs of peace.” – Clement of Rome
God’s Word: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-2
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