2 Thessalonians 1-3
In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” For we hear that there are some among you who are idle. They are not busy but busybodies. Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and provide for themselves. But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing good. (3:10-13)
The entirety of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians is about the end of time and the return of Christ. He gives them several markers of what is to come, how to know they are in the end times, and how to prepare. He of course does not predict the time, because no one knows the times and seasons, but he does prepare them for the return of Christ and the consummation of all things because Paul believed that Jesus could come at any moment. He encouraged them to see everything, their daily lives, and the persecution they were enduring, in the light of the big picture of the return of Christ.
Yet, Paul ends the letter in chapter 3 on a very practical note. It seems that some in the church were lazy and not busy at work. Commentators often speculate that this is because they were so consumed with the imminent return of Christ that they put off their day to day lives with their gaze ever fixed on the sky. This could be true and it could be the reason why some in the church were not working and providing for their families. However, it could also be true that these were just lazy people; after all, laziness has always been around and always will be until the end of all things. This is one of the things that plagues man and it is something that we must guard against.
The problem with being “idle” is that you tend to get into other things which you should avoid. Paul says that instead of being busy the were being “busybodies.” This is not to say that vacation is wrong or that you shouldn’t take time away from work. Of course, even the bible has much to say about rest and rest is to be a part of our regular pattern along with work; it is commanded in Scripture. However, rest is the reward for hard work, not the replacement of hard work. Incredibly, in a letter that centers around the return of Christ, Paul’s advice is “stay busy, work with your hands, provide for yourself, and do what is right.” We do need to prepare for the future, but we can’t be so “preoccupied” with the future that we neglect the work that must be done today.
