A Lost Nose

The hour is late and whispers are running wild; do you know where your nose is? Most of us have heard the expression, "Keep your nose in your own beeswax." Basically, it means to mind your own business. So I will ask you again; do you know where your nose is?

It is a lot easier, or so we think, to come up with solutions to everybody else's problems. We offer unwanted albeit well-meaning advice and we are quick to consider ourselves experts in the various fields of advice. The married advise the singles. Women with multiple bouncing babies advise scores of infertile women. The employed advise the unemployed. We think we know better because we think we've been there. But what does the Bible tell us to do with our nose? We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 "and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,". There are three things to note here. First, lead a quiet life. Second, mind your own business and third, work with your hands.

First, lead a quiet life. Don't air your dirty laundry for the whole neighborhood to see. Save the drama for your mama. We all have problems and things that happen. Some things are for sharing and others, not so much. In other words, don't gossip about yourself! Take your prayers and petitions to God and lay your heart bare to Him. People can't stick their nose into your business if they don't know it!

Second, mind your own business. Don't get yourself entangled and enmeshed in someone's life or someone's problems when you don't belong there. You need to follow Galatians 6:2 where it tells us to "carry each other's burdens", however, do not confuse that with meddling! Just a few verses down, in verse 10 it says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." When you carry someone's burdens, you are doing good. You can do good without sticking yourself in the middle of someone else's affairs. You just have to watch yourself and evaluate yourself. Know when to step back.

And third, work with your hands. If you're busy with your own work, you don't have time to go sticking your nose into what everyone else is doing. It's too busy being right where it belongs!

So, if you've lost your nose, I suggest you find something of your own to work on. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:3-5. "“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." We all have enough business of our own to fix, so get to work on your own planks.