Everyone Mind His Own Business

Everyone Mind His Own Business

It is a spiritual sickness, a plague from which all of mankind is suffering; namely, being a busybody in other people’s matters, bothering about things that are none of their concern, that they are not responsible for, that they have nothing whatsoever to do with, that are absolutely irrelevant to them.

We find some fitting words for this in John 21:21 and 22: “What is that to you? You follow Me.” Let us use this as our motto, as our slogan!

We also find a particularly good word against this widespread plague and vice of being a busybody in other people’s matters, instead of faithfully and zealously minding only our own business, in 1 Peter 4:15: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.” How indicative of how terribly wrong it is to be a busybody in other people’s matters! It is in the same category as murder and thievery!!! Murderers and thieves have also been busybodies in other people’s matters!!!

And how noteworthy it is that all these people have this one thing in common: they create unnecessary sufferings for themselves! How foolish it is to be a busybody in other people’s matters and thereby create unnecessary sufferings for yourself. We have sufficient sufferings as it is.

How prudent it is to deny yourself—deny yourself this fateful interference! Mind your own business!

Down with prying into other people’s affairs and with the lust to judge!

We have nothing to do with that. It is our business to follow Jesus with the greatest faithfulness, in both great and small things! It is my business always to be faithful in all things, in the earthly as well as in the spiritual realm. That, and only that and nothing else: that is my business! Away with everything else! Refuse it! Deny it! Judge it! Condemn it! Be radical! Then you avoid all unnecessary sufferings! Then you will always have peace and joy and wonderful rest in God!

What other people say and do and neglect to do is their business and absolutely not mine!

If someone treats me unjustly, it is his business. My business is glorious: namely, to accept the injustice patiently and joyfully, as well as requiting evil with good. Then I have heaven on earth.

Satan also has a business: namely, to tempt me in order to get me, if possible, to fall; to get me to lose courage; and preferably to get me to give up. This is his business, which he pursues with great zeal.

It is God’s business to make sure that we are not tempted beyond our ability to bear. 1 Cor. 10:13. What comfort and what a hope and guarantee for our entire future that He attends to His blessed business with perfect faithfulness!

It is my business to be perfectly faithful, to stand, to overcome in all temptations, to resist Satan steadfastly so that he flees from me!

It is God’s business to strengthen me, which He faithfully does when I faithfully attend to my business.

It is God’s business to bless me! He never neglects to do that! In the end, He is faithful to ensure that I receive the crown of life (Jas. 1:12), because I faithfully endured and overcame in all necessary sufferings, and because I faithfully avoided unnecessary sufferings that always arise from being a busybody in other people’s matters.

Therefore: Cease completely from being a busybody in other people’s matters! Do not interfere in God’s business or in other people’s business—also not in Satan’s business—but attend all the more to your own business!!!