Work Ethics
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2 Thessalonians 3.6-13
11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
That's Paul's command in these verses – not to be idle, to earn the food you eat and to disassociate yourself from those who fail to do so. I wonder how you feel about these verses; I wonder how you feel about a sermon about them? Perhaps you have a nagging sense of guilt about some work you have failed to do, those books you meant to read, the lunch break at work that got pushed a little long. Or maybe you are in a place where you are so overwhelmed by your paid work/volunteering/family/social work/travel/commitments that the word idle sounds like a refreshing plunge pool and the idea of being told to increase your workload seems at best unrealistic and at worst torturous.
I'm willing to admit that it was that second option that weighed on my mind as I began to prepare this sermon and thought about who I'd be preaching it to. As I mentally scanned this congregation and asked 'How do I preach this stark command not to be idle to a group of people who to my eyes seem overworked and over-busy?' Well scripture tells us that all scripture is useful and I don't know all of you well enough to be sure that idleness is not an issue, scripture knows you better than I and as we try to preach the text here and not what we feel like not to mention the forcefulness with which Paul makes his command, I don't have much option. But as I've studied these verses I've seen that idleness is more subtle than sitting in front of the TV for too long and that these verses show us more of what work transformed by the Gospel looks like. So that's what I want to show you tonight, I've got two points to help us hang our thoughts on; The Importance of being earnest – why does Paul treat work so seriously, what does his life tell us about work. We've got work to do – Paul calls us away from idleness, but what is he calling us to?
1. The Importance of being earnest
If you're not there already take a look at p839 and at 3v6, Paul says;
6In 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 teaching[a] you received from us.
This is a strong command made 'In the name of the Lord Jesus' and he uses similar language again in v12;
12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ
Work is clearly an important issue the avg. spent in paid work is 97,464 hours over a lifetime (that's just easily quantifiable paid work, not to mention parenting, voluntary work, providing care etc etc) Work is a defining element in our lives.
This makes even more sense when we think back to what we learnt about work last week, from Genesis; -Work is part of our identity as we image God. -Work is part of God's blessing. -Work is and advert/show-home for God's kingdom. Accordingly Paul treats work; our understanding and practice of it seriously – applying church discipline to those who abuse it. This passage is serious about work. Paul understands our attitude towards work as being symptomatic of our understanding of the Gospel – the brother who is idle lives in opposition to the teaching that the Thessalonians received, in opposition to the Gospel itself.
We don't know that much about the Thessalonians; Paul's visit to them is recorded for us in Acts 17 and it doesn't appear to be a long stay, though the letters to them 1 and 2 Thessalonians show Paul had a close relationship with them. But in two short letters Paul talks about work several times as part of his appeal to the Thessalonians to stick with the true Gospel.
I wonder if that is the way we think about our 'work' by 'work' I mean that broader definition that Dan gave us; 'Any creative, useful act that promotes civilisation' So our; -Paid employment -Volunteering, hobbies -Parenting -Providing care for others -Housework Do we understand these as being work which is driven and defined by our response to the Gospel, the good news about Jesus?
Perhaps this is new to you; if you're not a follower of Jesus here tonight you thought that Church deals with the spiritual aspect of your life, perhaps it might make you a more moral person but what does it have to do with work? The truth is that if Jesus is who he said he was, if he really did love us to the point of dying for us and he rose again then everything is up for grabs. God's grace, his love which depends on nothing that we could offer, is so stunning that it demands that every part of our lives be re-ordered around it. If you decide to follow Jesus he will demand your life; your thoughts, relationships, ambitions, money and your job but we pray that when you see the real Jesus and the life he brings that will be a joyful surrender not a painful prising from your hands.
So as we work whether that's at the office desk or setting up for mums and toddlers tomorrow morning, or looking after your kids or even doing the ironing understand that our attitude to these things will reveal how we have understood and live out the Gospel. Paul almost seems to take this for granted in the language he uses; the way you understand your work is directly linked to your understanding of the Gospel. But what about Paul, what about his work, well look at the way Paul describes his own work in v7-9;
We were not idle when we were with you,8nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.
When we understand the grand narrative of the bible, the big story of God saving and redeeming a people for himself it redefines our understanding of and attitude to work. Work is no longer our identity or saviour. Work is neither the thing that defines us nor the thing we look to for ultimate satisfaction or meaning in. Jesus fulfills those roles perfectly. Rather work is a good gift, a way of expressing and enjoying our identity as image-bearers of God. Set free from the slavery of our work being our identity or saviour we are able to work for the benefit and blessing of others.
We see that beautifully demonstrated in Paul's work for the Thessalonians; he does not demand that the Thessalonians give him financial reward or even provide him with food without him paying for it, rather he imitates Jesus by giving up his rights in order that he is not a burden to the Thessalonians and can thereby be a model for them. Paul's attitude toward work is freedom, he is free to serve the Thessalonians and not look to his own comfort or status. Paul describes his ministry like this in his first letter to them;
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
When we realise that work is part of our response to the Gospel, then we understand that work is a fundamentally good thing but not the ultimate thing. As we continue to grasp the amazing grace that God has shown us that in Jesus, that He has finished the work that we could not do – the work of living a perfect life and dying in our place. We do not need work to function as our status or meaning giver but rather we work as Paul did not to receive what is due to us but to bless others in the same way we have been blessed. In this context comes Paul's stark command in v11 and 12;
11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
How then do we obey this command not to be idle, that's what I want to look at in our second and final point; 'We've got work to do'
We've got work to do
First up I need to be blunt, this command is a blunt. We are not to be idle and even to disassociate from those who are. There may be some here who know they are idle, it is easy for them to identify. Paul is straightforward, we should be working. Work is not limited to but it does include paid work and it also includes serving each other here. If we do not have work then our work is to be seeking it out, so if you're unemployed your work is to be actively searching for work that in itself is reasonable, noble and meaningful work. If you're a regular attendee of htg then you need to find a place where you can work here; whether that's welcoming on the door, serving tea and coffee (hint there's plenty of gaps on the rota), visiting those who are ill, leading in Sunday School or helping pick litter next Saturday.
If you are not willing to work Paul is clear; you are a burden to others and you have failed to understand the implications of the Gospel. If that's you then take Paul's command seriously; repent and preach to yourself the grace that God has shown you and work hard find a place to work and serve.
So what about those of you who are over-worked and busy what does this command have to say to you? Well let's read it again;
11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
Notice that those Paul commands are described as being busybodies rather than busy. There is a temptation when we read this warning against idleness to respond with 'Well that certainly isn't me, I'm definitely busy' but the distinction Paul makes between busyness and being a busybody should lead us to a more helpful and less defensive response which is to ask the question;
'What am I busy with?' or another way of putting it might be; 'Is the work that I'm doing as Gospel-orientated as possible?'
What does that mean? Well we've defined work as any creative, useful activity and that's true but we've also said that our work is transformed by our understanding of the big story of the bible and specifically by our understanding of the grace shown to us in Jesus. Work is no longer or saviour or our identity rather it is caught up in the bigger narrative of God redeeming a people for himself. Did you catch that our work is now caught up in God's mission, because of that it is deeply meaningful and significant. Christians are people with work to do, not just the duty to provide for ourselves but Gospel work. That doesn't just mean bible studies by the way, as we saw last week our work is a show home for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and what's more God chooses to use his followers as co-workers in his plan to bring sinners back into relationship with Him. That leads us to two very big but very inspiring job lists; The Great Command – (Matt 22) Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself. The Great Commission – (Matt 28) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. The challenge then for those who are busy is to audit our busyness against these goals. Are the things that fill your day, your week the things that best serve these ends, in other words are they driven by the Gospel. Let me be clear this doesn't mean that all of us should do 'full-time, paid ministry' though perhaps some of you should. But it does mean that all of our work should orientate itself around the Gospel from the career we might choose, to the work of being a parent, to where we choose to set up home, to reason why we serve one another.
So how can we get started on this? Well a great way to start is to get a clear picture of what we are already doing. Then we can assess where idleness may be an issue, where we might need to change priorities. Then pray ask God to send his Holy Spirit and help you discern how you can serve Him best. Read scripture read about God's grace, the work he has done for you. Read those passages from Matthew we just read and ask how you can obey them. Read Proverbs 31 for an example of a non-idle woman who wins the respect of others by her hard work at the home and in business.
Paul is calling us out of idleness not to mindless busyness but to meaningful, joyful, other-serving work in response to the grace God has shown to us. Christians have a high calling to worship God, to enjoy Him and his blessings which include work. We are called to love with all our heart, soul and mind and we're free to do so as God works through his Spirit to make us more like him. And we're called to work alongside God, sharing in the task which he is most passionate about – bringing undeserving sinners like you and me back into relationship with him. That's a cause worth working for. Let's pray.