A Quiet Life Speaks Volumes
“Mom, what’s a YouTuber?”
The question came from my 9-year-old son as I was busy making dinner one night. I responded in classic mom fashion—with a question of my own: “Why do you ask?”
He launched into a story about a boy he knows who creates videos on his own YouTube channel and hopes to become rich. I explained that people can post just about anything online these days; and, if enough viewers tune in, platforms like YouTube might pay them. He paused for a moment, thinking it over, then asked with wide-eyed wonder, “That’s cool, right?”
In a 2019 Harris Poll of 3,000 children ages 8–12, “YouTuber” ranked as the top future profession of choice for American kids.¹ I might have been shocked by the results of this poll if not for that conversation with my son.
As I continued talking with him over the following days and weeks about this “cool” path to prosperity, I kept returning to the same verses:
You also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing (1 Th. 4:11–12).
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ (Col. 3:23–24).
In a world that celebrates visibility, platform, and influence, Paul’s command sounds radical: “Aspire to lead a quiet life” (1 Th. 4:11)—not a self-aggrandizing life built for followers, but a quiet one. In God’s economy, quiet faithfulness is never wasted.
Are We Missing the Point?
People naturally desire to be successful in their short lives and leave a legacy. We who are parents and grandparents want our children to grow, thrive, and succeed to the best of their abilities. We see their potential to work hard and be rewarded with a comfortable, meaningful life. That desire is not sinful. We can use our hard work, ambition, and influence for God’s glory.
Likewise, in ministry, we hope our work will bear fruit and leave a significant impact on the world. While I attended Bible college, my late-night conversations with friends were not about settling down into simple, quiet lives. We discussed how we were going to change the world for Jesus. After all, Jesus commanded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19).
But, have we missed the point? As believers—especially in the West—we often measure success differently than God does. I have met many church leaders who would jump at the chance to be YouTubers whose influence would transform the world for Christ.
Jim and Elisabeth Elliot were called to the mission field in the 1950s, sharing a desire to take the gospel to the unreached. God led them to Ecuador, where they joined four other couples in bringing the Good News to the Huaorani tribe. After several attempts to make contact with the Huaoranis, the men flew into the jungle, hoping to go further than ever before in communicating with the tribe. Tragically, the Huaoranis speared all five men to death, leaving five widows and several fatherless children behind.
By worldly standards, the mission was a failure. Five healthy, intelligent men died far too soon, many said. Yet, God used their deaths to ignite a fire in generations of young people to become full-time missionaries, committing their lives to share the Good News of the gospel with unreached people groups all over the world.
Aspire to Lead a Quiet Life
If those five men had successfully reached the Huaorani tribe on that first trip, we may never have known the Elliots on this side of eternity. They very well may have lived out their days quietly working and sharing the gospel in that remote part of the world. Yet, they still would have brought God great glory because they never aspired to carry out anything other than the mission to which God called them. Elisabeth Elliot, who remained in Ecuador and ministered to the tribe after her husband’s death, became a revered public speaker and bestselling author. She would be the first to say she never would have expected the recognition they received. The missionaries’ goal was simply to obey God’s calling.
Paul taught believers to “aspire to lead a quiet life” (1 Th. 4:11). The word aspire (or “make it your ambition,” NASB) comes from the Greek verb philotimeomai, meaning “to strive, labor, or study.” Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to make it their personal goal to live quiet lives, mind their own business, and work with their hands. Why? “That you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing” (v. 12).
When we obey God, work hard, and live quietly, we become better neighbors to those around us. We live compelling, godly lives—even if they look “boring” to the world—giving Him glory and displaying His greatness to the world.
What Has God Called You To Do?
A friend once asked me for advice about a woman she knew who resented her husband for not feeling called to the mission field like she did. She would lie prostrate on her face for hours, praying that God would change his heart. I asked what her young children did during these times. “She puts them in front of the TV with snacks,” my friend replied.
This woman’s desire to reach the nations was sincere but deeply misguided. Her mission field—her home and her children—were right in front of her. I told my friend the truth, as gently as I could: God’s desire was for this woman to serve and pray for her husband, love and care for her children, and obey the Lord in the assignment He had given her in this moment.
God wants His children to love Him by obeying Him. What does obedience look like for you? Are you homebound, wishing you could get out and minister like you used to?
What if God has you exactly where you are—on that couch, in that chair—to pray in ways for which you never found time before, to lift up your family, your church, your pastors, the ministries you once served? Maybe you are quietly caring for an elderly parent or being cared for yourself. Perhaps you are in a season of diaper changes and long, ordinary days.
Wherever you are, God has called you to obey Him today. Your situation may not feel sacred; but if God has placed you there, and you are loving and obeying Him in it, it is sacred. Your ordinary calling is holy because you are doing your work unto the Lord and not to men (Col. 3:23).
What may seem like a boring life to some—faithfully obeying God, studying His Word, loving our families, spending our days in prayer, and serving in our churches—is not boring at all. To the world, it may seem insignificant. But to God, if you are remaining faithful in the life and circumstances He has given you, you are doing eternal work.
Instead of aspiring to make a flashy impact on the world for Jesus, what if we simply aspire to obey Him right where we are? Faithfulness may or may not lead to something big on this side of eternity, but we often forget that it is in our weakness that He is strong (2 Cor. 12:9). God receives much glory in our quiet faithfulness.
In His economy, standing before our Maker clothed in Jesus’ righteousness and hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Mt. 25:21) is the greatest success. As we strive toward the goal to hear those words, we should live with the same wide-eyed wonder my son had that evening in the kitchen, asking, “That’s cool, right?”
ENDNOTE
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- Hillary Hoffower, “Kids in the US and China have starkly different goals, as revealed by a survey that asked them if they’d rather become astronauts or YouTubers,” Business Insider, July 17, 2019 (tinyurl.com/KidsYouTubers).
