1Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, even as also with you, 2and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men; for not all have faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you both do and will do the things we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and into the perseverance of Christ.
6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks in rebellion and not after the tradition which they received from us. 7For you know how you ought to imitate us. For we didn’t behave ourselves rebelliously among you, 8neither did we eat bread from anyone’s hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you. 9This was not because we don’t have the right, but to make ourselves an example to you, that you should imitate us. 10For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone is not willing to work, don’t let him eat.” 11For we hear of some who walk among you in rebellion, who don’t work at all, but are busybodies. 12Now those who are that way, we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they work with quietness and eat their own bread.
13But you, brothers, don’t be weary in doing what is right. 14If any man doesn’t obey our word in this letter, note that man and have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. 15Don’t count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
17I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is the sign in every letter. This is how I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
The Misuse of Time
2 Thessalonians 3
The Misuse of Time
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone is not willing to work, don’t let him eat.” 11 For we hear of some who walk among you in rebellion, who don’t work at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are that way, we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they work with quietness and eat their own bread.
I believe my father’s favorite verse in the Bible was this one. I can still hear him saying, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” An entitlement attitude is not Biblical. God created work, and the rules of sowing and reaping are threaded through the entirety of scripture. We should all remember that work is not a curse; it is a blessing. Scripture tells us that “15 Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15 WEB) The reader should note that Adam was put into the Garden of Eden to work it BEFORE sin entered the world. God intended for Adam to have a task to do, and the fruit of that was that he might have something to eat. It is not beneficial for humans to receive something without effort. It is emotionally, spiritually, and materially injurious on many levels. Paul tells Timothy to watch out for such people who are not industrious. In fact, the less involved they are in managing their own affairs, the more likely they’ll be intrusive in the affairs of others. That’s a nice way of saying that they are busybodies.
Paul says concerning those who are unwilling to work, we should command and exhort them to earn their bread in quietness. That means that thrift and a good work ethic are something that should be taught. They are godly attributes. They are noble qualities. If we find someone who is deficient in this area, we should come alongside them, educate them, and challenge them. Instead of each of us looking for that tendency in others, we should look to ourselves and ask ourselves a few questions. Some of those might include: “Am I a good volunteer when help is needed in the church body, or am I quick to ask for help from others, but I am scarce when I am called upon?” “Am I careful with my time and do I use my time in a way that is honoring to God, or do I waste endless hours doing things that are of no profit to myself or others?” “ In this day and age, there are so many things that try to take away our scarce and valuable time. Maybe it’s time to pray that the Lord would make your time more useful to yourself and to others. As a child, I attended a daily chapel service at an Orthodox Christian school in the Anglican tradition. Almost every day during morning prayer, the headmaster would read this prayer collectively for all the students. This prayer does not appear in the 1928 Episcopal Prayer Book. It is very possible that our wonderful headmaster, Mr. Walters, wrote it. I can still hear him up at the front of the sanctuary in his bold and clear voice, saying this prayer for the whole chapel to hear,
Defend us, O Lord, against idleness and the misuse of time which can never come back; lest our lives be unprofitable to thee, mischievous to others, and without honor or joy to ourselves; for the sake of our Lord and master Jesus Christ. Amen (Headmaster Henry L. Walters Jr. - St. Thomas' Episcopal School)
What a glorious prayer! What a biblical prayer! May we all pray this prayer and incorporate it into our daily lives. We will all be better for it!