Title: Slackers and a Christian Work Ethic
Text: II Thessalonians 3:6-13
Thesis: Followers of Christ are to be hard-working and self-sufficient.
Introduction
Some men were overheard chatting around the table at a local restaurant about retirement. One of the men, a guy who looked to be in his early 50’s said, “I can’t wait to retire.” He went on to say that just that morning his wife had asked him what he wanted to do when he retired. He said, “I told her, ‘I’m going to sit on the couch and watch TV all day every day.’”
There was silence around the table for a moment and then one of the men said, “If you do that you’ll be dead within a year.”
The guy looked shocked and asked, “Why?”
The other man said, “If the lack of purpose in your life doesn’t kill you first, your wife will.”
In the gospels Jesus often spoke of the Kingdom of God… and it so happened that on one occasion some religious leaders asked him, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus responded saying, “The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the Kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21
Some of the Christians, to whom Paul was writing, were caught up in the notion that the return of Christ and the establishment of the visible and earthly Kingdom of God was imminent. The return of Christ is imminent in the sense that it may occur at any time… even a time when we least expect it. But they were not thinking in terms of being prepared for when Christ returns. They were thinking Christ was coming any day now and so let’s cease and desist and sit on the front porch gazing off into the clouds in anticipation of Christ’s Second Coming.
Perhaps they were tuned in to “the signs of the times” and interpreted those signs as prophetic fulfillments that indicated the return of Christ was very near. But, for whatever reason, they got it in their heads that Christ was coming and coming soon… therefore there was no compelling reason to be vested in this life.
They reasoned, if the return of Christ is imminent then why should we work? If the return of Christ is imminent why should we bother to paint the house or mow the lawn or pay the mortgage? If Christ is returning at any moment and all that is of this life will be left behind, why worry about the economy or caring for the planet or getting an education or vocational training. If the return of Christ is imminent then why vote or give Thanksgiving Turkeys to the Denver Rescue Mission or do anything for that matter. Christ is coming so who’s going to need turkeys?
So it was, with an exaggerated sense of spiritual pretense, that some Christians used their hope of Christ’s return as an excuse for living lazy and irresponsible lives. They became an embarrassment to the Christian community and to God. Rather than living lives that glorified God and blessed people, they became known as religious slackers who were a burden to society and nuisances in the community.
Their lives were so egregiously irresponsible that Paul said that people known for such flagrant irresponsibility should be avoided.
Christians are to be known for their work ethic not for being irresponsible.
I. A Christian should be known for his or her work-ethic – not the lack there of…
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teachings you received from us.” II Thessalonians 3:6
One version states that we are to “withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the traditions” they had received. Lazy Christians are called disorderly or unruly. They are out of step or out of order.
Marching bands are great examples of choreographed precision. Military parades are examples of synchronized movement where every marcher is in step with the others. I always marvel at how marchers must rehearse and rehearse and rehearse in order to be prepared to be in perfect step for their public performances.
Marching out of step may be a comedy staple with the likes of Gomer Pyle or Laurel and Hardy - marching off in the wrong direction… but being out of step as a lazy or irresponsible person representing the Christian community before a secular culture was no laughing matter.
On any given Monday morning those folks were sitting on their front porches watching all the cars go by and shaking their heads in wonder at those idiot, workaholics who were going to work.
Paul says we are to withdraw from or keep away from or shrink from or avoid the person who is idle or indolent. He is not speaking of a person who is unemployed but of the person who has settled into a lifestyle in which he is habitually sponging off of others. Paul is adamant about those in the Christian community who can and who have the opportunity to work but do not. He reminded the people to whom he was writing, “When we were with you we gave you this rule: If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
On Friday I read in the Nation – World Briefs section of the Denver Post a news bite from England. Under the heading Britain Overhauls Welfare System,” the once-generous welfare system has pledged harsh penalties for those who refuse jobs and community service work for the unemployed in return for benefit checks.”
In other words, it is expected that the unemployed recipients of benefit checks will accept a job if it is offered. And recipients of benefit checks may be expected to do some public service in exchange for that benefit check. In other words… the unemployed in Britain are expected to work if they expect to eat.
The same issue of the Denver Post ran a story about Marcellus Roberts. Mr. Roberts had worked for Central Parking for 26 years and is now involved in a federal racial discrimination trial. He was fired from a job that paid $30 per hour. My purpose in citing this story is not to argue for or against the suit… what intrigued me was this: Mr. Roberts, who was accustomed to earning $30 per hour, took a part-time job working the graveyard shift loading Federal Express trucks for $12.25 per hour.
$12.25 per hour is not $30 per hour! But Mr. Roberts is doing what he can to make ends meet so he and his family can eat. (Felisa Cardona, Central Parking manager in racial discrimination suit says taunts preceded his firing, The Denver Post, 11/12/2010)
Paul reasons in II Thessalonians 3:14 that if hard-working Christians do not associate with the slacker Christians… the slackers will be ashamed of themselves and get busy. He wrote, “If anyone does not obey our instructions in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.”
Paul says we are to avoid those who have fallen into patterns other than what they were taught.
What was that teaching? If we look back at I Thessalonians we see the teachings to which he referred in II Thessalonians.
II. One of the primary goals for followers of Christ is to earn the respect of others. We earn respect by working hard, leading a quiet lives and minding our own business.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” I Thessalonians 4:12
One day the pastor’s wife let out the dog and as he scooted out the back door she said, “Now remember Beauregard, you’re the pastor’s dog and all the other dogs will be watching you.”
Some time ago I read about a display at the zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the primate section, next to the baboons and monkeys, is a glass fronted habitat with a living room, furniture, a computer, a television, a stereo system, a kitchen and a bedroom. Only the bathroom is excluded from public view.
The couple on display, live their fishbowl existence for the viewing pleasure of all the zoo visitors. It might be helpful to imagine that we do in fact live fishbowl lives. People do see us and observe how we live and they either admire and respect us or they don’t.
Paul wrote to Titus in Titus 2:7 advising him, “In everything set an example by doing what is good.”
• Our lives are to be lived in such a way that others will respect us for our work ethic.
• Our lives are to be lived in such a way that we are not dependent on others to provide for our needs.
They were also taught to be firm with those who could work but who refused to work.
III. Followers of Christ are to be known as encouraging and supportive people, but firm with those who are idle.
“And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone…” I Thessalonians 5:14 “Yet do not regard him (the idle Christian) as an enemy, but warm him as a brother.” II Thessalonians 3:15
Paul is not insensitive to people who are going through a hard patch. He speaks of being patient and helpful and encouraging to those who are up against the hard things of life. If you are taking notes jot down II Corinthians 8 and 9 and read them later.
In II Corinthians 8 and 9 Paul is writing to Christians in the church at Corinth. He is asking them to share what they have with Christians in other cities who were living in poverty. He even said that God had blessed them with plenty so they could share some of it with those who had little or nothing. He wrote: “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous n every occasion and through your generosity people will be helped and God will be praised.” II Corinthians 9:11
So we are to care for people who are in a bind… but he also says we are to admonish those who lapse into a lifestyle of laziness and irresponsibility.
When I was growing up my parents instilled in me a strong work ethic:
• Get a job and earn the right to keep that job.
• Never quit a job unless you have another one lined up.
• When you are out of a job, your job is to find another job.
• You are not too good to do a humble job.
In our first church in western Kansas Bonnie and I were poor… more poor than I realized. The church was generous and we were well cared for but we needed to supplement our income so we both drove a school bus. I know this is hard to imagine but we lived 14 miles out in the country on a dirt road. When it rained it was a mud road… our bus routes were about 45 miles long and only ten of that was on paved roads. On muddy days I would put a chain on the left front week of Bonnie’s bus to keep it in the center of the road. She would drive her route and when she got to the highway, Bonnie would get out of the bus, throw down a piece of cardboard or whatever, lie down and take the muddy chain off the front week, toss it into the back of the bus and take the kids on to school.
You may not realize this but when I felt God leading me into the pastorate I did not quite see that as necessitating that my wife be rolling around in the mud removing muddy tire chains from a school bus.
But we thought nothing of it… it was honest work and we did what he had to do to make ends meet and were grateful to God for it.
Not every job pays $30 per hour… and it is unfortunate that some think of work as some sort of penalty. It’s not and in this economy we are all keenly aware that a job… any job that helps us keep bread on the table is a good thing.
The great danger for most of us is that we tend to grow weary with those we consider to be deadbeats and become indifferent to those who have real needs. So don’t leave here today and go brow-beating or berating those who are unemployed. “Getta job ya lazy bum!” should not be the responsible person’s response to someone who is out of work.
Conclusion:
The first take away today is a word to those who are disinclined to work… to those who did not mind being dependent on others or who prefer unemployment benefits to taking a humble job.
1. To those who were slacking Paul said, “Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.” II Thessalonians 3:12
And the take away for those who are living responsibly:
2. To those who were living responsibly Paul said, “And as for you, never tire of doing what is right.” II Thessalonians 3:13
