What the Bible says about Meddling
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Luke 12:13-14

Even our Lord and Master Jesus Christ would not go beyond the area of His authority that God had specifically given Him. He was supposed to live His life a certain way, as a man like us, to preach the gospel and found the church, and then to give his life in sacrifice as our Redeemer. But within all these responsibilities, within his sphere of influence, he had not been given at that time the responsibility or the authority to be a judge or an arbitrator in matters such as these.

Therefore, He refused to go beyond the powers and the authority that He had been given.

Had He done this, He would have taken someone else's job. He would have been meddling in the affairs of, say, a justice of the peace, an elder at the gate, or some other person who had been legally entrusted with the job to arbitrate or judge matters such as inheritances. Jesus had no purpose, no right, to put his finger in that pie because God had not given Him that as part of His sphere of influence.

We are told in other places that He has been given the responsibility and authority to be Judge of all. We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But when did that appointment take place? It occurred once He was received up into heaven. It began at that point, legally, because He had qualified to be our Judge. That, however, was after the scene in Luke 12, and it will come into its fullness in the judgment. He is judging us right now; judgment is now on the house of God (I Peter 4:17). But in Luke 12, He had not been given the responsibility to judge. So if He had stepped outside of His given responsibility and authority, He would have been guilty of sin, taking another's responsibility, meddling.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What's So Bad About Busybodies?

Romans 12:3-8

These six verses are all tied together by humility—that one should not think of himself more highly than he ought. God has put us each in the body as it pleases Him, so we should not think that we, as, say, the toe are better than the knee because the toe cannot do the knee's job. God thinks of the toe just as highly as He does of the knee, but if He has put us as a toe, why not in faith do the job of a toe because that is what God wants us to be? If He had wanted us to be a knee, He would have put us in the body as a knee, but He made us to be a toe, so be happy as a toe! Do a toe's work in faith!

Paul tells us to think soberly, logically, and seriously, that as God has dealt to each a measure of faith, we in faith can consider our place in the church and deal with it. So, whatever we are to do, do it! Do it with all the gifts and skills God has given—but do not try to do another's job. It is his job to do diligently, not ours. God put us in the body to do a specific job, our job not his; otherwise, He would have given us his job!

If we have been given the job to exhort, then we should exhort. If it is our job to minister and serve others, serve—but do not take another's job to prophesy. Paul is saying, "In lowliness of mind, be content where you are because God has obviously put you there for a reason. If you do the job God has given you, you are fulfilling His will." The church, then, can be united because the members are not competing over each other's responsibilities.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Psalm 133 (1998)

Romans 14:4

Yes, God has given us a promise of becoming judges, kings, and priests in the World Tomorrow, but He has not given us the authority to be judges now. We are to be making evaluations and learning how to judge. But, right now, unless we have been appointed to a certain position in which such judgments must be made, if we take it upon ourselves to make them, we are stepping into the muck. We have gone beyond our sphere.

He is telling us that, if we decide to take it into our own hands to judge another man's servant (think of it in terms of every other person being God's servant), then we have begun to be presumptuous. We are meddling in another's matters.

Jesus would have been meddling in somebody else's affairs had He decided to arbitrate the dispute in Luke 12:13-14. He would have been what the Bible calls a busybody—someone who is doing something that he has not been called to do or been given the authority to do.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What's So Bad About Busybodies?

2 Corinthians 10:12-16

Paul explains that, even as an apostle, his authority has limits. The word that Peter coined for this is allotriepiskopos, translated as "busybody" or "meddler" (see I Peter 4:15). Episkopos is "overseer," one having authority. He is referring to an overseer who has stepped outside the bounds of his authority and meddles in areas he has not been given responsibility for.

As Paul writes here, even an apostle has a sphere, meaning simply "an area over which a person has responsibility." In this case, Paul seems to have been thinking primarily of a geographical area over which he had been given specific authority. One could also say it was limited to particular ethnic groups since Paul had been appointed to preach to the Gentiles.

In the division of responsibilities in the places where the apostles preached, Paul had been given a particular sphere of influence, responsibility, or authority. He assures the Corinthians that he would not encroach into someone else's—Peter's or John's or any other's—area of responsibility.

So, Paul is saying that it would not be wise to move beyond what he had been given; he would not do that. Why should he boast or glory in something that is another person's responsibility? He would go specifically to those people to whom God had told him to go.

Notice in verse 13 that Paul says God had "appointed us" (meaning the apostles) and given them certain "limits." This proviso is crucial. In the church, especially concerning its ministry, God's servants have been set apart for a specific responsibility. It is essential that a minister not go beyond that specific calling and appointment.

We should not limit this appointment of responsibility just to apostles, ministers, the church, or matters concerning the church. Why? Because God has given us all a sphere of influence, responsibility, and authority. Each one has limits.

If we are a father, we have specific responsibilities, authority, and limits that correspond with that role. The same for mothers. The same for children. The same for elders and deacons in the church. The same for employers and employees.

We find that God says in Romans 13 that He has appointed governmental leaders to their areas of responsibility. The implication is that He can take them down at will if they step outside the responsibility He has given them.

We should be careful not to limit this idea of a sphere of responsibility to the church. It includes aspects of our lives far beyond what we might consider normal church activities. God has given us all spheres of responsibility that we must stay within and not stray beyond.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What's So Bad About Busybodies?

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Do we lead a quiet life, or are things always in turmoil? Do we live in peace, or is it in constant strife? If we are living in strife and turmoil, what are we doing to contribute to it?

Do we mind our own business, or are we busybodies and meddlers? Do we always want to know what the other person across the fence is doing? Do we always call up somebody for the latest news about what's going on over in this church or with that person and his problem?

Is our "helpfulness" really a guise for poking our nose in where we are not wanted? With some people it is. They serve in order to get the goods on others.

Do we work, or are we lazy? This does not mean just our physical labor for the food we put on our table. It could be spiritual work. It could be our service to one another. Do we work with our own hands, or are people always making allowances for us? Are we living off the goodness of another's heart? Some people think they are owed something. They are victims of circumstance, and so they want everybody to give to them, rather than working for it.

Do we show the same Christian character to our work buddies as we do to the people who sit beside us in church? Paul asks that here in terms of "walk[ing] properly toward those who are outside." Are our lives hypocritical? Do we put on our best character and slip into a chair at church just once each week? Do our acquaintances in the world see Christ in us, or do they see "Joe Six-Pack" who has downed a few too many six packs? Do they see someone who curses a blue streak six days a week, but one day a week, he is the soul of pleasant and wise speech? How do people in the world see us?

Lastly, Paul says, "I urge you that you may lack nothing." He does not mean, "Do we lack a pair of shoes, a new DVD player, or the latest PlayStation game?" What he means is, "Do we lack anything that makes us better Christians, or are we satisfied with ourselves where we stand?" Have we come into the church and accepted God's grace, and then say "Take me as I am, Lord, without one plea"? Or do we know that we lack some quality that would make us better Christians and strive to add it to our characters?

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
It Takes a Church

1 Timothy 5:11-13

This is similar to my own experiences regarding people who are unemployed. If they are unemployed for any period of time, if they do not have strength of will, they learn to be idle. "Learn to be idle" is a difficult Greek construction, though the New International Version renders it well: "They get into the habit of being idle." It is not that they sit down and study how to be idle, but over a period of time—even though they may start out looking for a job and using their spare time in a profitable manner—inertia sets in.

Notwithstanding their good intentions, they start rising a little bit later, taking their time doing this or that. They find over time that it is far easier to sit around and drink their coffee, call their neighbors or brethren, chew the fat, and talk about this or that person:

"How is he doing?"

"Oh, fine!"

"But you know he has a problem."

"Oh, does he?"

"Yes. His marriage is not going well."

"Well, you know, I went through a problem like that back a few years ago. Maybe I'll give him a call and give him some advice. It is tried and true! It worked for me. If he needs me to, I'll go over and watch his kids for him."

And pretty soon they are fully involved in somebody's marital crisis when they should not have even known about it! It is evident that being a busybody is linked with gossip, tale-bearing, and scandal-mongering. They usually go hand in hand.

Once a person starts messing in other people's business, before long he is telling his friends what is happening and how wonderfully he is advising and helping these people. Soon all sorts of rumors are flying back and forth about so and so and this and that. Like a law of nature, it is only a matter of time before a relationship conflict erupts. What is then present in the church? War and disunity!

Experience shows that it often comes back to bite the meddler! The Old Testament provides a graphic image of what happens to such a person: "He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears" (Proverbs 26:17). And just a few inches away from those dog's ears are big, sharp teeth! When we meddle in other people's affairs, it comes back to hurt us. No one wins when meddling happens.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What's So Bad About Busybodies?

1 Peter 4:15

Peter lumps murderers, thieves, evil doers, and busybodies all into one category. How bad is it, really, to be a meddler or a busybody compared to knifing somebody, robbing them on the road, or just being downright evil? What is so bad about busybodies? Why does the Bible take such a stern view of meddling?

This sin has several tentacles that reach into various areas of our Christian lives and has a great impact upon our relationships both with God and with other people. That is what makes it so bad.

The New King James puts the word "meddler" in the margin—a very good translation of this word. The Greek word translated "busybody" or "meddler" is allotriepiskopos, a compound word—two normal Greek words stuck together—found in the Bible only in this one spot.

Allotriepiskopos literally means "not one's own overseer." "Not one's own" is one word and "overseer" is the other. It means, thus, "one who oversees others' matters or affairs." This word contains episkopos, which is the Greek word for "overseer," sometimes translated as "shepherd" or "bishop." This allotriepiskopos could be a good thing—if it was someone like a steward of an estate who was assigned to be the caretaker of another's matters, or an executor of a will, someone who is appointed to look over another's affairs after his decease.

However, in this one occurrence and in the normal Greek (it is used only a couple of other times in the classics and not quite in this same context), it is a negative term. It describes a person who takes it upon himself to interfere in another person's matter.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What's So Bad About Busybodies?


Find more Bible verses about Meddling:
Meddling {Nave's}
 

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