Polish poet Stanislaw Jerzy Lec once wrote: “You will always find some Eskimos ready to instruct Congolese on how to cope with heat waves.” That fellow must have had in mind the meddlesome people who are always trying to tell others how to take care of their business.
Meddling in other people’s business is an age-old sin. Back in Solomon’s day God warned against it when he said, “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears” (Proverbs 26:17).
Oftentimes the Bible admonishes us to mind our own business. Those who don’t are often called “busybodies” (1 Timothy 5:13), and are classified with murderers, thieves, and evildoers (1 Peter 4:15). The person who meddles in other people’s business is often a murderer. His weapon is his tongue and with it he assassinates the character of another. The busybody is often a thief. He steals the good name of another through gossip and slander.
Let every person mind his own business. That’s a fulltime job for most people. As someone has well said, “Let every man sweep in front of his own door and all the world will be clean.”