“And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, 'Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.’ Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’”
John 21:19-22
Getting into other people’s business is about as old as mankind. Now it is worse than ever. With the touch of a screen you can find out almost anything about anyone.
The Bible tells us to tend to our own matters. Paul tells us to “lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” (I Thess. 4:11). If you take care of your own affairs, you won't have time to get into other people’s business. If you always want to know what other people are doing, you won't have time to take care of your own responsibilities.
Everyone complains about not having enough time. Why is it that they find time to stay in other people’s business?
There is a word in the Bible for this problem: busybody. It must have been frustrating later for the apostle Paul to tell the saints at Thessalonica, the very ones he had told to mind their own business, that this is what they were. “For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies” (II Thess. 3:11). He also talked about young widows who were wasting their time keeping up with what others were doing. He said they were “idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not” (I Tim. 5:13). The cure for this nose problem was to get to work doing good things! “Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully” (I Tim. 5:14). Fill your life with doing constructive things and you’ll have a fulfilled life. Spend your days in other people’s matters and you’ll be miserable.
Some people have a harder time minding their own business than others. There is something in them that draws their attention to what others are doing—curiosity, envy, boredom, the excitement of finding out or the pride of being able to tell the details of another person’s life. It starts early. Some children focus on what they are doing while others ask what other children are doing and never grow out of this bad habit.
Retirees, widows and widowers, and people with long-term sickness can easily slip into this trap. They were too busy to notice others before, but now they have extra time on their hands and it can be a real temptation.
The Lord taught Peter to mind his own business. Peter evidently learned his lesson. Later he said a Christian is not to be “a busybody in other people’s matters” (I Pet. 4:15). The way to do this, he said, is to “follow His steps” (I Pet. 2:21). In a day when the word “follow” on a screen may be an excuse to be a busybody, Christians need to look at their hearts and be honest.
Kerry
West End church of Christ bulletin article for June 11, 2012.
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