Work or Eat

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12

One of the Thessalonians' struggles was the temptation to stop work and do nothing while waiting for Jesus to come back. Paul warns against this, instructing them to stay away from idleness. The high point of the passage is verse 10: "If someone will not work, that person shall not eat." The application seems clear: work.

One reason to work is so that you are not a burden to others. Paul echoes his first letter to the Thessalonians almost verbatim as he describes his example of working in verse 8 "so that we would not be a burden to you." Of course, Paul is not talking about those who are unable to work, either because of lack of ability or lack of jobs available. Paul seems to refer to those who choose not to work, the "busybodies" in verse 11. Quite simply, if you are able, you should be trying to work.