Jump Start # 816

2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we used to give this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.”

Our passage today is not one that usually makes the devotional books. It is not one that is found printed in calendars or one that makes greeting cards. This passage is not talked about much.

There was a problem and a misunderstanding among some Christians at Thessalonica. Some had quit working. The following verse states that they were going around as “busybodies.” They may have misunderstood the coming of the Lord and thought that there was no need to work. Paul used himself as an example of one who worked so that he would not be a burden to the brethren. These brethren were anticipating the church helping them. Paul’s words shut that down. If you don’t work, you don’t eat.

There are some lessons for us:

First, there is a reality side to Christianity that few want to acknowledge or admit. The image that so many have today is that the church ought to feed everyone and anyone who calls and has a need. That’s not the pattern. The people Paul were talking about was not the poor, homeless guy living under a bridge. It was members of that congregation. There is a time when the church will not even help it’s own members. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. That’s harsh. That’s cold. That’s the truth. To the modern eye, Christianity is soft, kind and has no edge to it. When reality hit those lazy brethren they would find out that the food was cut off. They would then go back to work. They ought to be working. It wasn’t that there were no jobs. It wasn’t that they had disabilities and could not work. They wouldn’t. Back then, there was no government assistance to help. If you were disabled, you begged. If you didn’t work, you went hungry. Your family took care of you. The church had measures to help it’s members. But there were parameters about that even. This is one of them.

Secondly, this passage reminds us of personal responsibility each of us have. Not just in the area of working to provide food, but responsibility spiritually. The church has a role, but it’s not to take the place of your responsibility. You are responsible for protecting your faith and growing in knowledge. You are responsible for developing a relationship with the Lord. You are  to feed your soul. Sure the church has a role, but not beyond what you are supposed to do. For instance, so you don’t like the preacher. He’s boring to you or he says what you already know. So you zone out during sermons. If this is your sole source of growth, then you become stunted. Your progress stalls because you cannot connect. Instead, you ought to be reading God’s word on your own. You ought to be engaged in your own progress. You ought to be developing, sharing and building your character on your own. If we rely completely upon the church to do that, we will fail. There is a personal responsibility involved. If you don’t work, neither should you eat applies to my spiritual progress.

Thirdly, the same thoughts go to my family and their progress. If the only time my kids open the Bible is at the church building, then I am relying upon the church for their entire spiritual progress. There is a responsibility that parents have. At home, the Bible needs to be taught. At home, character needs to be developed. At home, faith should be grown. The principle, if a man won’t work, neither should he eat, applies to raising my family spiritually. The parent, not the church, is the number one role in the child’s spiritual development.

Fourth, our expectations can be off base. Those non-working brethren were expecting and anticipating being taken care of by the church. They thought that was the way things were supposed to be. They had it in their minds that all would be fine. We don’t have to work, because we have a church to care for us. Paul said no. It’s not going to happen that way. If you don’t work, you won’t eat. I’m sure that cause those folks to be upset, mad and disappointed. Some may have quit. They thought for certain that’s why the church existed. Their expectations were not founded upon any Biblical truths. They could not point their finger to a passage and defend their actions. They didn’t have a leg to stand on. Our expectations can be like those non-working brethren. We may have expectations about others that are just not true. A young couple about to get married, enter the relationships anticipating that they will never have a disagreement. They believe that they will always see eye to eye on everything. Those of us who have been married for a while know better. Two different people, though they love each other immensely, will not be eye to eye on everything. One trip to the grocery store together will show that. That is a false expectation.

We can expect the Lord to get us out of every trouble we find ourselves in. We pray and then we expect deliverance. When it doesn’t happen, we are crushed. We wonder about our faith. We wonder about the Lord. Maybe we were expecting things without foundation. God allows trials. There are journeys through the valleys of the shadow of death. God leads us through those dark times. His way is often to experience them and go through them, not remove them from us.

When our expectations do not work out, it makes us disappointed and even angry. We need to look at our expectations. Maybe they were unfounded, like those in our passage who would not work.

God will not do everything for us. We have a role. We have a part to play. We need to focus on our part and let God do His part.

Roger