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, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

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For this series, we’re doing something really fun with our devotionals. As we welcome back some of our favorite pastors and teachers from years past on Sunday mornings, we’re going to “welcome back” devotionals from the past few years! We hope you enjoy these posts that garnered quite the heartfelt response when they first found their way into your inbox and on the Willow app.

When I was young, I lived for Saturday morning cartoons, especially the Jetsons. But on Saturdays, when my dad wasn’t working, he took pride in teaching me how to do chores the military way. He was fond of making bedsheets with hospital corners, as he did during WW2. He must have read today’s verses from 1 Thessalonians because he’d always chant an old saying as I worked, “Be the job great or small, do it right or not at all.”

Often in these sessions with my father, I would grumble, “I choose the second part of your saying, ‘not at all.’ I don’t want to do it that way.” 

Dad would wink and say, “Then I guess you also choose no allowance.” He was determined not to raise a slothful slacker who someday wouldn’t earn the respect of her peers and boss.

Like my dad, Paul, a disciple of Christ, was full of advice. He shared this advice in a letter to his friends, the Thessalonians. He must have heard that many of his friends were lazily waiting for Christ’s return. They had been ‘sitting on their hands’ instead of using them to work a job and serve their family and neighbors. Paul wanted these people to earn respect because, without it, they wouldn’t be able to spread the good news of Jesus being the Savior of our world. Without admiration, they wouldn’t be listened to or trusted. 

The Thessalonians also needed clarification about their purpose on Earth. Ultimately, the goal of their lives, and our lives today, is to bring honor and glory to our wonderful God. 

Do you agree?

One day I pray that Jesus will look into my eyes and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Fortunately, my story isn’t over—I sometimes am work-shy, especially when making beds with hospital corners. Thank goodness for fitted sheets, microwaves, dishwashers, and my great God, who isn’t finished with his girl yet!

Next Steps

Examine your heart. Have you ever considered the intersection of respect and your work before? Even if you don’t enjoy the work you are doing, “be the job great or small,” we can bring glory to God in all we do. Spend some time in prayer today, asking God to show you where you might grow in this area.