Daily Devo
Mind Your Own Business
By: Keefe Wilson
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
...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. 1 Thessalonians 4:11
Have you ever been tempted to meddle in someone else’s business? If we're not careful, it’s easy to get caught up in someone else's drama. Whenever I'm tempted to meddle in someone else’s business, I remember this story.
Once upon a time, there was a married couple who gave their twin sons bizarre names. They named one son “Trouble”, and the other one “Mind Your Own Business.” One day, the two boys were playing hide and seek in their neighborhood. "Mind Your Own Business" counted to a hundred and started looking for his brother. He looked everywhere but he couldn’t find him anywhere. Suddenly, he noticed a nearby police car, so he approached the policeman to ask for help. But when the police officer asked him what his name was, he replied, “Mind Your Own Business.” Feeling disrespected, the police officer changed the question and asked him who he was looking for. The boy replied, “I'm looking for Trouble!”
This story is humorous, but it has an application for Christ followers. If we go around meddling, and poke our noses into someone else’s business, it will often lead to trouble. This is especially true when it comes to our relationships with fellow believers. Paul's instructions to "lead a quiet life" weren’t meant to be harsh; they were advice to avoid situations that might interfere with our calling. Why? Because when we're focused on other people's business, we usually neglect our own spiritual growth.
Meddling makes us spiritually unfruitful, but minding our own business doesn’t mean ignoring the needs of others or failing to show compassion. We should view minding our own business as an invitation to focus on the work God has given us. For example, if someone tells you they are struggling, don't ask for more details, pray for them! Then keep them lifted up in prayer and leave those details to God.
As we go about our day, we might need to ask God to help us stay focused on our calling. Our calling doesn't include managing the lives of others, God wants us to stay in our own lane and manage our own issues. Whenever we're tempted to NOT mind our own business, we must ask for the Holy Spirit's help.
If our curiosity gets the best of us, here are two great questions we must ask:
- Do I need to know this?
- Will knowing it glorify God—or satisfy me?
Let's make sure we encourage without meddling, and we pray without judging.