1 Thessalonians Chapter 4: 9-12
9 On the subject of mutual charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
10 ... Nevertheless we urge you, brothers, to progress even more,
11 and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your (own) hands, as we instructed you,
12 that you may conduct yourselves properly toward outsiders and not depend on anyone.
This is one of the key Scriptures for Plain Catholics. We seek a balance in our lives of prayer, work, and intellectual development. We try to be so very busy that we do not have time to leisurely read tabloids about celebrities; we avoid gossip as we seek to always be aware that "only God knows what is cooking in someone's stewpot".
Staying away from telly helps with this. The incessant debate and noise on the news channels becomes an irritating roar. The tabloids in the market checkout appear ridiculous in light of the beauty of good fellowship and good living.
Let us all aspire to tranquility, personal discipline and constant prayer with God.
That's me away then.
5 comments:
The Lord "gave" me this verse as a young adult--I've always figured because it is such a challenge for me! However, I'm always more content when I live by its direction. Thank you for reminding me of it today.
Amen, and Amen again!! This applies to family relationships too, eh ;) :(
Warm greetings,
RHOnda
Would you consider writing more about working with one's own hands? That part of the passage still strikes me as old-fashioned, since with technology we need to do very little work manually, or at least that's what many of us aim to do. Thanks.
And a thrice amen, Rhoto!
Maria, that passage is most often understood to mean that we are to support ourselves and not live off of others. Whether with or without technology, tis always good to learn skills and employ those skills to better our own lives and the lives of others. God gave each of us gifts of abilities and we consider it good stewardship to use those abilities so that in all things God may be glorified.
There's almost an inherent violence to certain television programs (not including the ones that are actually violent) and tabloids - they way they accost the eyes and mind. Anyway, I'm learning to enjoy working with my hands, esp. knitting and cooking.
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