3. A quiet life allows fewer things to disappoint or worry you.
A bold and extreme life is ruled by expectation. People expect to do more and be more. But the more expectation we have for life, the more power we give to marginal things disappointing us—things like what we wear or what we eat (Mt. 6:25).
A quiet life of character, however, tells us we are not entitled to more but are only capable of more when we lean on God’s will for our lives.
When God’s will becomes the leading voice for our life over our expectation, then marginal things become of less importance—meaning, less disappointment and worry for the things that don’t matter.
4. A quiet life helps you invest in relationships.
Robert Waldinger, a Harvard psychiatrist, led a 75-year study of adult life trying to discover what a happy, healthy life looks like. What he found was simple: relationships make a life happy, healthy and meaningful.
Too often, we let our careers and ambition take precedence over our relationships. We think the happy life is one where we have successful careers.
But with a quiet life, we realize that we don’t need to have the wealthiest, world-changing careers to make a difference or lead a fulfilling life.
For people who lead a quiet life, relationships and community are of more importance than what their job title is.
5. A quiet life makes it easier to establish a rhythm.
Loud lives are busy. While we’re not meant to avoid busyness, we are meant to avoid busyness for the wrong reasons. In today’s culture, many people are busy simply because their priorities favor more money or more possessions. This is what happens when we let ambition, greed and excess rule our stories.
A quiet life, however, keeps us close to the right priorities. This means we avoid staying busy for the wrong reasons. We can live a life of rhythm, where we don’t have to constantly stay busy, but rather practice a healthy routine of work and play.
A quiet life slows us down to prioritize what’s important in our lives, rather than stay busy for the wrong reasons.
And so, I no longer reach for the loud, public life doing bold stunts and moving onto the next big thing. I favor the life that’s quiet, that doesn’t care so much whether I’m making a splash, but rather, if I’m making a small and meaningful difference in the lives around me.
You might think God wants you to do bold, extreme things in His name. But I invite you to consider that maybe God wants you to lead a quiet life, where you’re making a difference by being faithful where you are.
Maybe then you’ll discover the simplicity life was meant to have.
