2 Thessalonians
3:7-12
It is apparent to most of us that
we have moved from a culture with a strong work ethnic to a society with an
entitlement mindset. Is an
entitlement mindset outside of the will of God? The only way to know that is to look at what God has spoken
to us in His written word. Shall
we begin in the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of
Eden to work it and to take care of it.”
Now that was before the fall, before Adam rebelled against
God, did it all change after the fall? The answer is found in Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until
you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to
dust you will return.” King
Solomon a man God gave great wisdom has this to say in regards to work, in both
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, “All hard work brings a
profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23) And in
Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do,
do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is
neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
You may be thinking, now that is
Old Testament does the New Testament have anything that addresses the value of work? If those were your thoughts then you
and I are on the same page, the book of Ephesians 4:28, states; “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must
work, doing something useful with his own hands, and he may have something to
share with those in need.” And
as we look at 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, it may come over as harsh, unsympathetic,
or even unkind, watch-out, do not let your emotions set a standard that God has
not set. It may also be wise to
understand this is directed at and to the Church, and to brothers who are not
willing to work. “For even when we were with you, we would give you this
command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in
idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus
Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”
I have no reservation about work,
that it was and still is God’s design, and take the ability to work from a
person, and they will become discontent. In fact, we have seen the model, from the American Indian to
the Black family, when the government takes away that option. They first become discontent, but after
a couple of generations they become entitled, and they demand that someone else
labors to support their needs. In
fact, an entitlement mindset leads to demanding that you have all the benefits
of the worker, without moving off your lazy ass. Once more let me say that this culture has come into the church,
and often we the church see ourselves as doing good when we are in violation of
the Scriptures.
We must pray for the ability to
discern, between helping a brother who has no will to work, and giving support
to the one who is willing to work.
That will require us to personally involve ourselves in our brothers and
sisters lives. It will require us
to ask the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth to guide us in our desires to
follow the will of God.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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