“and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you” — 1 Thessalonians 4:11 NIV

Many young people look toward their future with dreams of fame as a sports star, a Hollywood celebrity, or a popular singer in front of stadium crowds. In our youth, we all wanted to become somebody that everybody would know and admire, but the truth is so few actually achieve those ambitions of rising to the top of society through fame. Some carry these longings with them into adulthood with no plans of adjusting, like a minister I knew who walked away from his worship ministry to seek after his still unrealized dream of being a country music star.

The Lord speaks to all of us in this verse in that our real ambition ought to be the pursuit of quiet lives in which we mind our business. God is trying to save us from heartache, disappointment, and missing the blessings of His calling on our day to day lives. Avoiding the drama, conflict, and discontent of temporary pursuits leaves us open to succeed in doing things that have forever benefits.

Life lived in quietness is one that touches the heart of others, no matter how simple or in small degrees, and those consequences are the ones that make an eternal difference.