Idleness

Warning Against Idleness

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

Praise be to God that we have received every spiritual blessing in our Lord Jesus Christ! With humility, prayer, and gratitude, we aspire to extend the solace, compassion, grace, and affection bestowed upon us by Christ to those who hunger, thirst, and lack clothing, thereby embodying His love in action. But what does the Good Shepherd require of us when those extending their hands for assistance can work and provide for themselves? Amid soaring costs of essentials like food and gasoline, who among us hasn't felt the pressure to cinch our financial belts tighter, diligently stretching every penny to its fullest extent? Giving was undoubtedly simpler when it stemmed from our abundance, but nowadays, it frequently involves forfeiting our own desires to support others. This truth often prompts Christians to ponder the genuine need of the recipient before reaching into their nearly depleted pockets. Should those who have received ample comfort from the Lord extend aid to those who can provide for themselves but choose not to do so because receiving a handout demands less effort? What if these "takers" reside within the sanctuary of the church? If those who have been abundantly comforted by the Lord hesitate to support these individuals, do we risk facing the accusation from the Good Shepherd of neglecting His hunger and thirst? Furthermore, if we dare withhold our giving from these "takers," does the Lord desire us to take further action and discipline them for their deceitful endeavors? In the following sermon we are going to answer these questions by reviewing Paul’s warning against idleness as taken from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15.

Keep Away from Believers who are Idle

With a “distinctly military ring” and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Apostle Paul commanded the brothers and sisters of the church of Thessalonica to discipline those who were idle and disruptive. Among the congregation, there were individuals who, influenced either by the societal norms of Greco-Roman aristocracy which looked down upon manual labor, a lack of motivation, or an intense anticipation of the imminent return of the Lord, opted not to engage in productive work. Instead, they relied on the generosity of more affluent believers, while investing their idle time in meddling with the affairs of others. Since the “idlers” were ignoring his “softer appeal” in his first letter, that “stressed the need to work and to lead a quiet (i.e., nonpublic) life and thereby to avoid dependency on others (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12),” Paul now commands the body of Christ to socially ostracize this disobedient group. He was not asking the church to exclude the offenders from membership or “place them in the category of the “evil or wicked” but was likely suggesting they be “removed from formal activities of the church such as corporate worship and the meal that was typically a part of the Lord’s supper celebration (1 Corinthians 5:11; 11:17–34).” While this discipline does not seem harsh by our “Western society that is highly individualistic and largely shameless,” in a culture where identity was often “bound up intimately with the group to which he or she belonged,” this was harsh discipline indeed!

Christians Should Work to Support Themselves

Paul urged the church to avoid the negative influence of those who were 'idle and disruptive.' Instead, he encouraged them to emulate his example by engaging in diligent work to provide for their own basic needs. In the Greco-Roman culture of Paul’s day, it was commonplace to teach by example because “men/women tend to put more faith in their eyes than in their ears.” While Paul as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ had the right to financial support from the church he was ministering too he voluntarily chose to work night and day so that he could provide for his own basic needs and not be a burden to the church. Paul’s adopted this practice of “self-sufficient work” was not only because it distanced him from the idle workers and the “itinerant teaches whose coming was selfishly rooted in financial gain personal glory, or both;” but more importantly to exemplify the truth that “work is a good creation gift instituted by God prior to the Fall (Genesis 2:15)! Believing that his “was patterned after God’s stand for how to live” Paul boldly stated, “the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (3:10)! While many of his day shared Paul’s work ethic, such as Rabbi Abbahu and the Stoics, for Paul this was not just a clever philosopher to entice the masses to work to take care of themselves but rooted in God’s word and as such a command that when followed was a sweet aroma unto a holy God!

Reflection. Apostle Paul’s exhortation to work or not eat is not a blanket statement applicable to every individual. The church, as stewards of the God of all comfort, still bears the responsibility to provide food and clothing to the impoverished and underprivileged, treating them as they would Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 1:3-5; Matthew 25:35-40). However, Paul emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility, urging those capable of working to support their basic needs independently, thereby relieving the burden on both the church and government!