Meddling busybodies

Meddling busybodies

Meddling in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears. – Proverbs 26:17

2 Thessalonians 3:11 We hear that some of you live idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business.

Busybodies are unwanted advisors who repeatedly meddle in the affairs of others. Their intrusion is sometimes carried out under the guise of helping. Their meddling is camouflaged as “assistance.” Regrettably, their “help” is uninvited, unwelcome, and unhelpful. Often, busybodies are dissatisfied with the degree of adventure in their own lives and attempt to find fulfillment by getting involved in the lives of others.

Throughout the millennia, people from various cultures have written credos, proverbs, etc., regarding idleness or meddling. The Romans said, “By doing nothing, men learn to do evil.” Isaac Watts wrote: “For Satan finds some mischief still, An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”

Other aphorisms include:

“Idleness is the thief of time.”

“The goat’s business is none of the sheep’s concern.”

“You know how some people are – they always feel they have to do things for other people’s good, no matter what happens to others in the process!”

“Busy souls have no time to be busybodies.”

“Nothing was more dangerous than people convinced of their own good intentions.”

“God save us from the people who want to do what’s best for us.”

“Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

Recognizing that showing concern or occasional curiosity about others is natural and can indicate empathy and compassion is important. However, if these behaviors become intrusive, repetitive, and unwelcome, they cross the line into meddling.

Respecting others’ privacy and boundaries is vital for fostering healthy relationships and positive social interactions. Private or personal information is often passed on to others, making public and private matters. Consequently, trust is broken, and confidence is betrayed.

REFLECT & PRAY

“The Christian life is not a nonstop parade of miracles and astonishing answers to prayer and extraordinary visions and angelic visitations. Much of it is low-key, tame, and ordinary. Yet a godly life will always be celebrated in heaven” (Stanley).

Father I want to be a faithful and sensible servant busy doing the Kingdom’s work when the Lord Jesus Christ returns (Matthew 24:46). Enable me to focus on doing just that.

INSIGHT

The message of the Second Coming produced an odd and awkward situation in Thessalonica. Many Thessalonians stopped their daily work and gathered in groups, causing unrest by simply waiting, waiting, waiting. Their anticipation for the Second Coming led to disruptions in ordinary life, as they abandoned their livelihoods.

Paul was significantly distraught over the meddlesome individuals at Thessalonica, who were more than simply interfering by “not working” – ergazomenoi. They were “meddling,” that is, working intrusively – periergazomenoi.

A busybody is a person who is inordinately curious and meddles in the affairs of others. These individuals often involve themselves in matters that do not concern them. They show a keen interest in other people’s business or personal lives. They frequently inquire about private matters, offer unsolicited advice, or intrude into situations without being invited or welcomed.

Meddling in other people’s lives and gossiping about them is highly detrimental, causing damage, harm, or discord.

The Greek word translated as work is ergazomai. Ergazomai means to work, labor, or exert oneself. The Greek word translated as busybodies is periergazomai. Periergazomai comes from peri – concerning + ergazomai – to work. It has the sense of working all around, bustling about, or running around in circles.

In Greek, there is a vivid wordplay that is not readily apparent in English. The Thessalonians are not ergazomenous (“working”) but periergazomenous (“being a busybody, meddling”).

The phrase, That work not at all, but are busybodies (mēden ergazomenous alla periergazomenous) can be rendered in various ways:

Who do nothing but meddle in The affairs of others.

Those whose only business is to be a busybody (D. H. Field).

Doing no business but being busybodies (Ellicott).

Not busy at work, but busy-bodies [at play] (GELNT).

Not doing any work, but rather doing useless things (EDNT).

Paul’s words have been paraphrased variously as follows:

Not busy, but busybodies. (TNIV)

They are not busy people but are busybodies.

They are not busy in their business but are over-busy in other people’s business.

Minding everybody’s business but their own.

Everywhere doing everything but doing nothing.

1 Timothy 5:13 They learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business, and talking about things they shouldn’t.

“There are two unpleasant fruits of this idleness. Those concerned gad about (going about from house to house) . . .. the second result – that they become gossips and busybodies, repeating in one house what they had heard in another . . .. publicizing of a private matter, a betrayal of confidence” (Guthrie).

1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.

In response to this, Paul offered practical advice. Paul urged the Thessalonians to remain composed and reorder their priorities. Rather than engage in futile and restless waiting, they should focus on a purposeful and constructive approach to daily activities and continue working with their hands.

Paul emphasized that the belief in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the end of life as they knew it was not a reason to cease their efforts. On the contrary, it should serve as an inspiration to work even harder and with greater dedication.

“It is always true that ‘the greatest handicap the Church has is the unsatisfactory lives of professing Christians’ and equally true that the greatest argument for Christianity is a genuinely Christian life” (Barclay).

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© Dr. H 2023