1 Thessalonians 4:11 was the subject of our Tuesday night Bible study. “Aspire to lead a calm and peaceful life as you mind your own business….”
Mind your own business. The words sounded kind of harsh to me, but I couldn’t deny their truth. It is important to respect boundaries in relationships. Sometimes, though, it’s necessary to intervene. The key is knowing the difference.
On Wednesday morning, my son, Mark, told me about a problem he’d been having. Ron, a friend of his since childhood, had borrowed Mark’s reciprocal saw weeks earlier and never returned it.
“Ron lent my saw to someone who’s moving in a few days,” Mark said. “What if I never get it back? I don’t have the money to replace it!”
By now, Mark’s patience had run out. “If Ron doesn’t give the saw back by tomorrow, I’m calling the police,” he declared.
I sure didn’t want to see that happen. But was it my place to warn Ron? It would be sad to have a life-long friendship end over something like this. I drove past Ron’s house that day on the way to see my sister and thought about stopping to talk to him.
Mind your own business popped into my head. Was I thinking of it because of Bible study the night before, or was it a message for me? I asked God what he wanted me to do. I’d hoped my sister would give me advice about it, but she had other things on her mind.
As I was driving home, I prayed, “God, please help Mark and Ron work this out.”
Afterward I had to pass Ron’s house again on my way to the store. And on the way back. I decided to stop and talk to him. But just a few blocks away, I sensed that I should just go home.
Ten minutes after I walked in the door, Mark called.
“Ron got the saw for me,” he told me happily. “Did you say something to him?”
“I considered it,” I admitted. “But I didn’t do anything. I just asked God to help with the situation.”
“Then you did do something,” Mark said.
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