Tag: 2 Thessalonians

Tough Conversations About Helping Those In Need (2 Thessalonians)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

2Thessalonians 3:13-15 ESV As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. (14) If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. (15) Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Sometimes we need to have tough conversations in the church. In this situation there were folks who were taking advantage of the grace and goodness of others. They were able to work, but weren’t working. Instead they were obligating others to feed them. They showed up and implied that a good Christian man or woman would look out for the needs of their neighbors. The problem in this case was that they didn’t have needs, they were able to work and earn for themselves. They were just really lazy.

I’m sure this frustrated those who had been so giving to others, to see their generosity taken for granted. Perhaps it frustrated them to the point that they didn’t want to be generous at all anymore. If people just become entitled, what’s the point? They may have used the entitlement of a few to justify not helping others at all. The problem is that there were some folks who really needed the help and were looking for a hand up and not just a hand out.

So Paul writes that we aren’t to grow weary in doing good. We should still be generous and help those who need it. Yet when we discover someone who is able to work and won’t work, we must stop enabling them. The goal of shutting someone out wasn’t to disfellowship them completely, but to restore them to fellowship. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that these folks hadn’t become enemies, but that they were still brothers. They just really needed to have a tough conversation and a little help to the understand the scripture that says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

A Strong work ethic is part of Christian doctrine. I’ve written more on this blog about addressing issues of poverty, moral obligation and generosity. I’ll include the titles and links to those posts at the end of this post under resources.

Father, thank you for the radical generosity we have experience from you. We ask Lord for wisdom in mirroring that generosity to others. We want to demonstrate grace in all that we do, yet we don’t want to encourage idleness, dependency, and entitlement. Give us wisdom on how to not grow weary in doing good, but to also encourage the idle to work and help them come to maturity in Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

Book Resources* on Poverty

Last Year’s Post on 2 Thessalonians

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Day 66: 2 Thessalonians (NEW TESTAMENT 90)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Paul generally begins his letters with prayer as he does here in 2 Thessalonians. What seems to be different here is that he says, “we are ‘bound’ to thank God for you” (1:3, 2:13). The word bound would mean obligated. Paul felt a debt to the Thessalonians for how well they had received the gospel and endured under persecution (1:4).

Paul jumps right in to draw the line about the coming of God’s final judgement and glory. It seems as though that after Paul had left, someone had come in the church and was sewing seeds of discord about the return of Christ, claiming that he had already come back and they had missed it (2:1-3).  Paul sets the record straight and reminds them to go back to the sound doctrine (traditions) they had received from him in person or via his other letter written to them (2:15).

Paul wraps up this short epistle with a request for prayer and warning against idleness.  If Paul needed the prayer of the churches, we all need prayer.  There were some who were content to eat the bread from other’s labor, but Paul admonished them that each one is to work and eat their own bread (3:12). He reminds his readers that they are to not grow weary of doing good (3:13).

I imagine that growing weary in doing good is all in your perspective. If you see the good that God has called you too as an obligation, I see how it could become wearisome. However, if we see the opportunity to do good to others as a  gift, we will look for it more often and with zeal.

FATHER, We give thanks to you for your church. We are bound to give thanks for all the ways you have worked in the church and used the church in our own lives. We thank you for each and every gift. We rejoice in the encouragement we have drawn from one another. We pray that we would not be lead astray by false doctrine, but that we would cling to your word. Strengthen our hand that we would not be weary in doing good. Let our love for you be evident to all and may it abound. We pray for our church leaders that you would strengthen their hand and that they would glorify you. Thank you for the grace to shepherd your people. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.

What did you take away from today’s reading? What are your thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below and enter the discussion.

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