1 Thess 4 : 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you


a. That you also aspire to lead a quiet life: Paul says that we should have an aspiration or ambition in life, and that we should aspire to lead a quiet life.

i. Aspire has the thought of ambition, and is translated that way in several versions of the Bible. Quiet has the thought of peace, calm, rest and satisfaction.

ii. The quiet life contradicts a hugely successful cult: entertainment and excitement. You won't find it in a book of cults or a survey of world religions, but this cult leads more people to hell today than any other. This cult has a god (the self), an army of priests (celebrities), a set of scriptures (tabloids and the like), a creed (the demand for "excitement"), and countless places of worship (amusement parks, theaters, concert halls, sports arenas, and every TV is a little chapel). This cult seduces people into living their lives for one thing - the thrill of the moment. But these thrills are quickly over and forgotten, and all that is important is the next fun thing. This cult numbs us so that the only question we ask is "is it fun?" It never wants us to ask, "Is it true?" "Is it right?" "Is it good?" "Is it godly?"

iii. If you know nothing of the quiet life, then when do you really listen to God? When do you get to know Him? The quiet life can listen to God.