Mind Your Own Business

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Our yard has been the site of some dramatic battles between the birds who call it home. One year we had a mob of crows battling a single stubborn owl over a nest she had stolen from them. Another year a mother robin and I worked together to save her babies from a house wren that kept throwing them out of her nest. Several hawks have considered our bird feeder bait, hiding in the bushes under our window to make easy prey of the songbirds who visit, widowing several mourning doves. And one epic afternoon we had a large tree fill up with crows while the neighboring tree filled with turkey vultures, in what I could only imagine was a Jets and Sharks kind of moment.

But this year we have a different kind of bird battle going on. This one is between two male cardinals, and it has been going on for weeks. These two proud birds are battling for territory. Front yard, side yard, back yard…they regularly harass each other. Territorial behavior is common amongst birds during early spring, but this particular battle has a twist—the battle is entirely one-sided. You see, only one of the birds actually exists. This one bird is so intent on finding trouble that he finds it in every window around our house; and, this morning, he even discovered trouble in the sideview mirror of our car. Yes, he is battling his own reflection. And he is persistent.

How often do we act like this cardinal? How often are our annoyances and upsets with people or situations triggered because we see ourselves reflected in them? We see traits that we either don’t like in ourselves, triggering self-loathing; or we see traits we fear we are lacking, triggering feelings of insecurity or failure. We think we are battling with something or someone external, but we really battle with ourselves.

And how often do we complicate our lives by looking around for trouble—for something to worry about or something to trigger the self-righteous anger that seems to fuel our society these days? We are glued to news that capitalizes on these instincts, we listen to podcasts that confirm our fears, we keep our territorial hackles permanently engaged looking for threats in places where they sometimes don’t exist.

I wish I could impart the wisdom of 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 to our beleaguered cardinal friend.  “Love those around you and aspire to live quietly, mind your own business, build that nest as you have been directed, so that you may behave properly to outsiders and be dependent on no one.” Yes, sometimes life does present us with real and immediate issues with which we must engage; but sometimes the issues we engage with are of our own making or just not our business.  The next time you feel yourself battling or getting upset with people or situations around you, remember the cardinal, and ask God to help you see if you are the actual source of your current stressor. Use the guidance Paul gave the Thessalonians to simplify your life by staying on the path that reflects God’s image instead of your own.