minding our own business
“How does that concern you?” —John 21:22
Our modern society must be one of the nosiest groups of people in history. We have talk radio shows, gossip columns, tabloid magazines, “reality TV” shows, social media, etc. It seems like we mind everyone’s business but our own.
While our society peers into the lives of everyone else, our own lives are falling apart. Our own marriages deteriorate due to neglect, unforgiveness, and unfaithfulness. Children run around unsupervised and fall in with the wrong crowd. As a result, teen smoking, drinking, drug abuse, fornication, and abortion are rampant. Our own lives fall apart as we turn to substances, entertainment, compulsions, and escapism for fleeting solace.
Jesus cries out: “Enough” (Lk 22:38). He commands us to look at the plank in our own eye instead of spending so much time looking at the specks in the eyes of others (Mt 7:3ff). We are to avoid the babble of senseless controversies (2 Tm 2:23; Prv 20:19) or meddling in quarrels not our own (Prv 26:17). In the words of St. Teresa of Kolkata, we must “mind our own business.”
What is our business? Jesus makes this clear: “Your business is to follow Me” (Jn 21:22). We follow Jesus by doing what He has commanded us: putting our own houses in order (Is 38:1), loving our spouses, raising our children in godliness (Eph 6:4), loving one another (Jn 15:17), forgiving all who hurt us, etc.
Tomorrow is the great feast of Pentecost. Our business is to “receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22).
Prayer: Father, I repent of ignoring You and wasting the time You give me. Purify my mind and fill me with the Holy Spirit.
Promise: “The Lord is just, He loves just deeds; the upright shall see His face.” —Ps 11:7
Praise: Alicia took on the project of organizing and coordinating hundreds of people so that her parish could have coverage for 168 hours of perpetual Eucharistic adoration each week.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
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