Articles
Work – 2 Thess. 3:6-12
Work – 2 Thess. 3:6-12
From the beginning, God has taught that man was to be engaged in work as part of life. Originally in the garden: "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). After they sinned, "to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:17–19).
Throughout the OT this same work ethic was taught, particularly in the Proverbs: Prov. 27:23-27; Prov. 14:23; Prov. 12:11; Prov. 14:4; Prov. 20:4; Prov. 24:30-34; Prov. 6:6-11; Prov. 22:13; Prov. 19:15.
As we turn to the NT, this aspect of human responsibility continued. Paul wrote: "…But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you" (1 Thessalonians 4:10-11). To the Ephesians he wrote: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Ephesians 4:28).
This problem is again dealt with in 2 Thess. 3, as Paul understood that some had ignored his directive of 1 Thess. 4:11. Instead of working, some were leading an undisciplined life, walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that Paul had given them (2 Thess. 3.6, 11). Paul reminded them of the example of the apostles - 7-9. While the Paul and his companions could ask for and receive support for their labor of preaching (cp. 1 Cor. 9), they instead did their own labor, working night and day in order that they NOT be a burden to any.
We see then that while the brethren did show benevolence to the needy, the deciding principle in such benevolence turned on the inability of the needy to work versus the unwillingness of the undisciplined (vs. 10). The problem this possesses is the hardness of heart that comes from dealing with those who are unwilling to work. It is easy to begin seeing all needy as unwilling and thus our close hearts and wallets. We are called upon to make mature and righteous judgments in these cases.
Paul closed this section by repeating the individual mandate: "Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living." (vs. 12).
Hugh DeLong
