2 Thessalonians_3

Scripture  

2 Thessalonians 3:10 

For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

Observation-What does it say? 

Thessalonica was in the northern part of Greece, and was the second most prominent city during this time.  In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul stressed the need to work.  He does so again here, with even more urgency.  The political and social culture at the time looked with disdain at those who worked with their hands.  Therefore, there were those who would sponge off the generosity of other Christians.  Apparently, when the Thessalonians learned that Jesus was going to return, the idleness increased instead of decreased.  He reminds them that there was no example of this in his life.  

Understanding-What does it mean?

I was never much of a student.  I struggled in pretty much every subject that they threw at me, except for lunch and phys-ed.  But even though I struggled in school, I could tell you exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I would answer the question emphatically with, “A COWBOY! Or a carpenter, but definitely a cowboy.”  As I got a little bit older, I realized there was a certain limit to me becoming a cowboy, being that I grew up in Southern California, and had never really visited a farm, or ridden a horse for that matter.  So I followed in my family’s footsteps and started work as a carpenter shortly after high school.  While I have at times ventured into the world of academia, I have always felt more at home being a part of the working class.

I think our present culture is not too different from what the Christians in Thessalonica were facing.  There seems to be a general distaste for the work at hand and available.  I have often felt jealous of the people who had the more desirable jobs, that came with the nice air-conditioned office, and the fat paycheck.  “Must be nice to have what they have.”  I have coveted the nice car, and the big house.

But when I read through the bible, it becomes more and more evident to me that God does not care about the type of work I do.  Instead he cares about the heart in which I do my work.  Not only that, he cares about the good I do with the resources he has provided to me through my job.  Proverbs is rife with examples of the goodness of work.  For example, Proverbs 16:26 reminds us that our hunger can drive our will to work.  In Proverbs 18:9 we learn that a person lazy in their work is just as bad as someone who destroys the work of another.  And in Colossians 3:23, Paul reminds us to do our work as if our boss were God himself.  

Life Application

Jesus help me to remember that the job I hold was provided for me by you.  And the proceeds of that job are also yours.  I will not forget to give to you the portion you ask.  In return, I ask for good health so I can daily praise you in the workplace.  

-Tyler Galloway