Dear Faith Family,
I need to admit that I have a proclivity for the quiet. I don't always feel a need to talk, but I do feel a need to be alone at times. I don't get antsy when boredom sets in, but I do when there is too much commotion. Maybe that's why Paul's admonishment in I Thessalonians 4:11-12 to "aspire to live quietly," sticks out to me. At first glance, it seems to resonate with my natural disposition. But is Paul encouraging us to develop a particular personality bent? I don't think so, though I do believe many of us dismiss Paul's words because our personality is not inclined to whatever image of a "quiet life" pops into our minds.
While it has been my experience that the majority of us long for a simpler, less chaotic life, we still want to make a difference, yearning to be a part of something bigger, recognizable, and exciting. And, a quiet life seems the opposite of such aspirations, but only if we miss the context of Paul's charge. Just a few verses before, Pauls says this,
"Now concerning brotherly love (familial friendship), you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, faith family, to do this more and more..." (I Thess. 4:9-10)
You see, the Thessalonians were already involved in something bigger, recognizable, and exciting; their relationships. They were already making a noticeable difference (in their entire region, i.e., "Macedonia") through the way they loved one another, in the way they sought the good for one another. And that's the point Paul is trying to make, that the yearning within us for a fuller life finds its satisfaction in the relationships in which we are enmeshed.
God rescues people. God redeems people. God transforms people. And, he does so continuously and persistently day-in and day-out, you know, in the middle of that stuff, we call living. So, to be involved with people then is to be involved in God's fantastic activity. And, to love people is to participate in God's activity in the most impactful way possible. What could be more interesting, more influential, or more satisfying than that!
A quiet life does not exclude us from having an impact, or keep us locked away from the interesting; instead, it keeps us from missing out on what is most impactful and most interesting. "Aspire to live quietly," is an admonition to strive against the distraction of the grandiose which pulls us out of the personal, and to strive for a life of greatest satisfaction which is found only through loving relationships.
It's not easy living quietly. Like Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11), we are tempted to gratify our natural craving for satisfaction, tempted to seek out that which makes the most impact for the kingdom, and do that which demonstrates the extensiveness of God's power; but all that is a temptation, but not from God, for God does not tempt (James 1:13-15). Which is why Paul uses the word "aspire." We don't live quietly by temperament but by choice, as we direct our hopes toward achieving, a life in which we experience and participate in the incredible, but in the context and way, our Father has given us.