Minding Your Business

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~ 4 min read

Hi! Welcome to Well Lit Soul where we seek God, face darkness, and shine brighter. Today’s blog is called: Minding Your Business.

One of my favorite phrases to deploy to protect my light is “that’s none of my business”. Growing up, I always took that to mean “worry about yourself/this information is not for you”. And that interpretation still stands today but I also think of it as, “don’t focus on things that don’t concern you”.  And truthfully, that’s good advice. Not only for a wide eyed kid who always wanted to know what was going on, but also for an adult focused on positively nourishing the light within. 

It’s particularly good because so many people have their personal business publicly on display to be critiqued, commented on, judged, etc. And more often than not, that business is unnecessary for me to consume. So to protect my own heart and mind, I work very hard to not invest my time or attention in things that don’t concern me and stay focused on my own work. And that absolutely keeps a lot of messiness and chaos out of my life, which protects my light. 

However, I recently began to wonder if minding my own business is the best approach. Hear me out. These thoughts forced me to ask myself, what actually is my business? What do I actually invest my time and attention in? Because sometimes I can get so focused on my own goals and plans that I lose sight of the work God would have me to do, in other words, minding the Father’s business. 

I think about all of the things we can work toward and achieve. And how dedicated we can be to careers and passions. How our personal and professional ambitions often inform our decisions. And even though that work can be good and not involve anything wrong or sinful, what if it’s a distraction? To be clear, we do need to work to support our responsibilities. But sometimes the way we work, or how much we work, or even the type of work we engage in takes priority over the spiritual work. It can keep us focused on physical things rather than spiritual ones. 

So then I think about, well, what is my Father’s business? What are the spiritual endeavors He wants me to be involved in? My immediate thoughts go to Luke 2:41-50 when 12 year old Jesus, His parents, and the company they were traveling with went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. But when the feast was over, everyone left except for Jesus who remained in Jerusalem without them knowing. Starting at verse 46, the New King James version reads:

46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 

So the bible is clear that the Father’s business is to study and discuss His word. But that is not the only work to be done to serve and glorify God. Some of the other examples that come to mind are:

The Greatest Command: Matthew 22:35-40

The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20

Live faithfully in God’s law: Romans 6:12-13, 1 Corinthians 15:58, James 1:25-27

All of that thinking brings me back to, what am I focused on day in and day out? How am I spending my time? What am I striving for in the long-term? And how much of that aligns with God’s will? Am I minding my own business or my Father’s business? And how can I make my business the same as my Father’s business? 

Connection Question: What are some ways you like to spend minding the Father’s business? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to connect with you about it.