Power n Importance of the Daily Grind
The Power & Importance of
the Daily Grind
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
1. Intro: Brian, on Sarah’s team to Indiana, never did any work he could get out of, was happy to share his skills & experience about how to do it. “Pulling weeds detail.” Problem was he was the only one who knew how special he was. Everyone else grumbled and chaffed that he instructed those who didn’t want to hear it & wouldn’t pull his own weight.
Ø There’s a lot of those people around… always have been.
2. Scripture, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
3. Power & Importance of the Daily Grind, intro
Ø We are given two purposes: 1 to act becomingly, or in a way that wins respect, or is clearly decent; 2 and to avoid dependency.
Ø You & I can’t move people to respond to Christ if they don’t want what the Christ they see in us.
Ø Much of what they see will be the way we live day in and day out at work and at school.
Ø Taking care of business in these areas give power & importance to the daily grind. It gives our lives and words more weight.
Ø Failing in these areas undermines our presentation of the life to the full in Christ in ways that our apologetic is unlikely to overcome.
Ø So let’s look at 3 aspects of the daily grind that Paul mentions, & then come back to look briefly at those two purposes, 1 to act in a way that wins respect, and 2 avoiding dependency.
4. 3 Key Aspects of the Daily Grind
A. Lead a Quiet Life
Ø Quiet life probably means not creating problems. Paul himself taught & challenged the status quo, but also aimed to be at peace with all men.
Ø Yet Paul agitated some and so did Jesus. They did not go looking for trouble and they sought not to provoke it when it found them, rather sowing peace without compromising spiritually.
Ø We can be quiet, yet still zealous when we rest in Christ trusting in his power and agency.
Ø Let’s have zeal, but not be agitated agitators.
Ø Let’s flow like the mighty Mississippi, not churning like rapids.
B. Mind Your Own Business
Ø Minding our own business reminds me of Jesus’ call to deal with the logs in my eyes before dealing with the specks in someone else’s eye.
Ø We are not to be meddlesome. We must be quick to mind our own business, while slow to stick our nose into other’s business.
Ø With too much free time we’re prone to become busybodies, “work-abouts.” “We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies” 2 Thes. 3:11 “If you suffer, it should not be… as a meddler. 1 Peter 4:15
Ø The best remedy for this is to mind our own business and have some business to mind.
C. Have Business to Mind
Ø We need to work and be productive.
Ø Greeks despised manually labor and most of it was done by slaves. Jews, however, valued it. Even Jesus was a carpenter.
Ø Still, some Thessalonians quit their jobs to wait for Jesus, becoming a burden to those who did work. They likely also lost face with outsiders when they lost the ability to pay their bills.
Ø If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith & is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Ti 5:8
Ø We also work in order to be able to give to those who have need (Eph. 4:28); but “if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thes. 3:10)
Ø Deadbeats who defend the gospel damage the gospel’s reputation. Not the poor, but deadbeats.
5. Power & Importance of the Daily Grind, pt.2
Ø If our daily life, our daily grind, is characterized by quietly taking care of business, primarily our own, & doing so productively, then we’re more likely to win the respect of others & avoid dependency.
Ø Clearly busybodies who stir up trouble aren’t well liked. We’ll win more respect if peers watch us w/o concluding Christian = busybody.
Ø Neither do we want to be the kind of person everyone ducks because they are always asking for money, or at least making known their desperate need for money.
Ø Consumer debt is a dependency issue.
Ø Being dependent due to lack creates hard feelings, scorn and loss of freedom. Being interdependent by choice does not.
Ø As this passage indicates & Col. 4:5 says, we must “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without”
Ø If our lives are characterized by chaos, meddling, laziness and dependence, why would anyone want to follow Christ and become like us.
Ø Though it may be their greatest need, many won’t appreciate Biblical wisdom or evangelistic savvy. Most will appreciate someone who is at peace within, not meddlesome, and can & will take care of their own business.