Ask a group of young adults to name three of their life goals, and many of them will mention: success in their careers, loving families, and good friends.
Few if any will say, “to lead a quiet life.”
Yet God inspired Paul to write:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.”
–1 Thessalonians 4:11a
(emphasis added)
First, I suppose we ought to establish what a quiet life might include—qualities such as:
- Composure
- Humility
- Kindness
- Gentleness
- Peacefulness
Equally valuable? An understanding of what the quiet life would not include:
- Boasting
- Being easily-ruffled or offended
- Whining and Complaining
- Bossiness
- Being argumentative
It’s easy to see: those who lead calm, kind, gentle lives are the ones we like to be around. The second group of boasters, whiners, and arguers–not so much.
But there are many more benefits to the quiet life than offering pleasant company for others, honorable as that is. Consider the following:
A quiet life produces inner strength.
“Strength is found not in busyness and noise but in quietness.
For a lake to reflect the heavens on its surface, it must be calm.”
–L. B. Cowman (1)
Have you noticed that those with great inner strength and tranquility are most often grounded in faith?
(Grandma Rachel, circa 1910)
My grandmother(2) was just such a person. Her strength through tragedy and challenge came from calm confidence in God and complete dependence upon him (Isaiah 30:15). As a result, serenity and peace radiated from her life.
She was a 1 Corinthians 13 sort of woman—quietly patient, loving, and kind–not boastful, proud, or easily-angered. I never heard her raise her voice, gossip, or complain. And she consistently thought of others before herself.
Those qualities of the quiet life Grandma exhibited, still radiate in my heart today.
And that leads us to the next benefit:
A quiet life provides resounding impact.
Sunbeams silently rest on plant and tree, generating photosynthesis and growth. Dewdrops silently form in the night, refreshing the ground. Gravity silently presses all matter to the earth.
Similarly, a life of tranquility provides a quiet, positive influence on others through calm demeanor and gentle speech.
Limited speech is also impactful. We’d never think to apply the adjective quiet to a nonstop talker, would we? Thinking-before-speaking includes this advice:
“Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.”
–Spanish Proverb
Columnist Robert Brault seeks to accomplish that feat this way:
“I like to think of myself as a finely aged wine,
and one thing that keeps a wine finely aged
is to put a cork in it” (3).
A quiet life wins respect (1 Thessalonians 4:11a, 12a).
Tirades and obnoxious behavior may garner rapt attention, but composure and self-restraint earn high regard.
We’d do well to remember:
“The only way to demonstrate
that Christianity is the best of all faiths
is to prove that it produces
the best of all men [and women].”
–William Barclay (4).
A quiet life is blessing.
1) Composure and contentment result as we grow in tranquility—highly desirable qualities in this world of unrest, discontent, and anger.
2) A quiet life also steers us toward the blessing of maturity, where trivial annoyances no longer infuriate, giving is more fun than receiving, and building up someone else is more satisfying then bragging about ourselves.
https://quotefancy.com/quote/1557578/
3) The best blessing of all for humble, gentle, and peaceable individuals? The commendation of God himself (Matthew 5:3-9).
“How slow many are to learn
that quietness is a blessing,
that quietness is strength,
that quietness is the source
of the highest activity—
the secret of all true abiding in Christ!
Let us try to learn it
and watch for whatever interferes with it.
The dangers that threaten the soul’s rest are many.”
–Andrew Murray (1828-1917)
“Abide in me and I will abide in you” (John 15:4 ISV).
Notes:
- Streams in the Desert, p. 450
- I’ve written about her before: https://nancyaruegg.com/2013/02/18/1106/
- http://www.quotegarden.com/speaking.html
- The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, p. 234.
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From the Inside Out 