Notice, it doesn’t say, “If a man CAN not work.” No. It says, “If a man WILL not work, he shall not eat.” Those who cannot work, for whatever reason, we have an obligation to help. But those who WILL not work should go to work so they can eat.
Pastor John Beukema, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, talks about a time he attended a community prayer breakfast and sat at a table with a group of men he didn’t know. In the course of their conversation, the subject of retirement came up. The man sitting next to Pastor John, who appeared to be in his early fifties, was quite excited by the prospect. He talked about how much he was looking forward to the end of his career and related a conversation he had with his wife that morning.
“My wife asked, ‘What are you going to do when you retire?’ I told her, ‘I’m going to sit on the couch and watch TV all day every day.’”
The table was silent, but Pastor John couldn’t keep quiet for long. “If you do that,” he said, “you’ll be dead in a year.”
The man looked at Pastor John, wide-eyed, and asked why.
Pastor John told him, “If the lack of purpose in your life doesn’t kill you first, your wife will.” (John Beukema, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; www.PreachingToday.com)
From a sermon by C. Philip Green, Anticipating Advent -- Part III, 12/19/2009