Rev. David Holwick U
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
June 3, 2012
2 Thessalonians 3:6-18
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I. The work ethic ain't what it used to be.
A. Political correctness in England.
Back in 2010, Nicole Mamo tried to place a help-wanted ad in a
government job center in Norfolk, England.
Mamo owned an employment agency, and her ad said applicants for
the $9.35/hour position of cleaner "must be very reliable
and hard-working."
But the government job center refused the ad.
The bureaucrat said it was because they be sued for
"discriminating against unreliable people."
#36125
B. The concept of labor is important.
1) Consider the battle between communism and capitalism.
a) Capitalism won.
b) However, the current recession shows even capitalism is
not a perfect system.
2) Some think the answer is socialism.
a) The state doesn't own everything, but it controls a lot.
b) Industrial priorities are set by government experts.
1> Sometimes they even determine the wages.
c) America dabbled in socialism during the Great Depression.
1> Some believe we are dabbling in it again.
C. What does the Bible say about labor?
1) It is more complicated than you might think.
2) Even the communists quoted some of the phrases in today's
passage to support their viewpoint.
3) Right now, Europe and its welfare states may be on the
verge of economic upheaval, if not collapse.
4) We should look at what the Bible says about work and
benefits.
II. Work in the Bible.
A. Work is a good thing because it reflects God's character in us..
1) God is a worker "par excellence."
2) He created the universe, and he created us.
3) Since we are made in God's image, it is natural for us to
create and build things as well.
B. Some wrongly claim that work is a curse God put on humans.
1) The Garden of Eden gets the blame.
Genesis 3:17
"Cursed is the ground because of you; through
painful toil you will eat of it all the days of
your life."
Genesis 3:19
"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground...."
2) However, work itself is not the curse.
a) Even when we were perfect in the Garden of Eden,
humans worked at taking care of it. Gen 2:15
b) Our disobedience in Eden led to a curse that made work
drudgery instead of a joy.
C. Despite the curse, work can provide us with benefits.
1) With the right attitude, it can provide a sense of
fulfillment and pleasure.
2) We can produce good things that benefit ourselves and other
people, and bring glory to God.
3) Christians should value work and be good at it.
III. Christians should set an example.
A. Paul points to his own life.
1) He did not sit around and do nothing. 3:7
2) He paid for his own food. 3:8
3) He worked so he would not be a burden on anyone.
B. This was actually a sore point for Paul.
1) Paul worked as a tentmaker so he would not be dependent
on anyone.
2) He did not want to be paid, but he wanted to be valued.
a) His work was worthy of compensation.
1> In 1 Corinthians 9, we find that some doubted this.
2> Opponents didn't view him as a "real" apostle.
b) He deserves a wage, but refused to take one to make
a larger point.
1> Nobody owned him, or the gospel he preached.
C. All Christians should follow his example.
1) If we want something, we should work and earn it. 3:10
IV. Why some were not working.
A. Both letters to the Thessalonians bring up the topic of idleness.
1) We are not told exactly why some were shirking work.
2) We do know they were pouring their energy into being
busybodies instead.
B. There are several theories that may have truth in them:
1) They expected Jesus to return soon.
a) Why work when he is going to hand us everything?
2) They may have been influenced by their culture.
a) In Roman society, slaves did most of the work.
b) Free people could sit back and drop grapes in their
mouths all day; they looked down on work as beneath
them.
3) They may have had a false impression about religion.
a) Jews felt that the only real work was studying about God.
b) They looked down on secular jobs.
One of their prayers, composed by a teacher of the law,
went like this:
"I thank You, O Lord my God, that you have given me my
lot with those who sit in the house of learning and
not with those who sit at the street corners.
For I am early to work and they are early to work.
I am early to work on the words of the Law, and they
are early to work on things of no importance.
“I weary myself and they weary themselves.
I weary myself and profit thereby, and they weary
themselves to no profit.
I run and they run.
I run toward the life of the age to come and they run
toward the pit [of hell]." [1]
4) A final option - they may have been just plain lazy.
a) For some people, it's just their character.
b) Paul says they should change their character, or starve.
1> It is not a suggestion, but a command.
A> He backs it up with harshness - if they don't
listen to you, shun them.
B> The goal is to shame them into working. 3:14
2> In 1 Thessalonians 4:12, Paul gives the downside
of a lousy work ethic:
A> You lose the respect of outsiders.
B> You become dependent on others.
V. What about special circumstances?
A. The Bible recognizes that not everyone can work.
1) Some people are disabled.
a) They may be physically or emotionally unfit to work.
b) In Bible times, they would have been reduced to begging.
1> Instead of despising them, the Bible says we should
be generous with them.
c) In our day, disability is a growing issue.
1> In the Army, the percentage being given disability
payments has doubled in 30 years.
2> It's the same with police and firemen.
A> It is hard to tell is more people are being
injured, or the standards are being lowered.
2) Some people want to work, but no one will hire them.
a) Our society is much more specialized than ancient Greece.
b) We have plenty of unfilled jobs - for those who have
degrees in nuclear physics, or speak four languages,
etc.
c) It can be difficult to find a niche that needs you.
B. The Bible teaches compassion toward the down-and-out.
1) Even Paul extended handouts to the needy.
a) He took up collections throughout Greece and Turkey
for poor Christians in Israel.
2) In Ephesians 4:28, he says one reason we should work is so
that we can help others.
"He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but
must work, doing something useful with his own hands,
that he may have something to share with those in need."
VI. It can be a delicate balance.
A. What is a disability to one person is shirking to another.
1) When times get tough, people become more cynical.
2) There are always examples that generate discussion.
Two weeks ago, it was the case of Desmond Hatchett.
He is a father in Tennessee who wants the state to help
him pay his child support.
He has 30 children - from 11 different mothers.
He says, "It just happened."
(Even a Baptist knows there is more to it than that.)
Hatchett only has a minimum wage job, which means some
of the moms receive as little as $1.49 a month.
Should we be generous to someone like this?
Should his kids suffer?
Where is his personal responsibility? [2]
a) But remember that not everyone on welfare is like this.
b) Some rich people have decadent lives as well.
B. Those who can work, should.
1) It is only logical that someone has to be a producer.
a) If we can provide for ourselves, we should.
b) But our goal should never be just helping us -
we have been put here for other people, too.
2) If you cannot hold a regular job, do something productive.
a) A paycheck is not the only goal of life.
b) Add something to the community, or the church.
c) Everybody can do something to make this a better world,
no matter what your limitations.
d) Create something beautiful so you can reflect God's
image in you.
C. And always remember that one thing cannot be earned - salvation.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] Quote comes from Kerux Sermon #3107, “Work: A Noble Christian Duty
-- Part,” by Rev. John F. MacArthur, Jr., September 8, 1998,
Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.
<http://www.gty.org/Transcripts/archive.htm>
[2] “Man with 30 kids wants help with child support,”
<http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id
=8178265>, May 19, 2012.
#36125 “The Unreliable Need To Work, Too,” Randy Cassingham, This Is True
internet newsletter, February 6, 2010. Original source is the
London Telegraph.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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