Sunday November 16, 2025

2 Thessalonians 3:5-13

Now we command you, beloved,^[c] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are^[d] living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they^[e] received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. ⁹ This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. ¹² Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. ¹³ Brothers and sisters,^[f] do not be weary in doing what is right.

Sermon

I had fully planned on preaching the gospel text today. Until I read the second lesson and was hit with: “anyone unwilling to work should not eat.” I have a bone to pick. This verse has been pulled out of context and misquoted in order to justify not taking feeding the hungry and by extension, absolving the speaker from caring for the poor at all.

I’ve heard it all too often even from our elected officials. And I want you to be able to give an answer if someone tosses this at you as a reason not to feed the hungry or otherwise help the least of these.

Let’s get ready for a little Bible study. Would everyone turn to this reading in their insert?

First, context is everything. That’s why it’s always important to look at the complete passage when a single verse is quoted. In this context, Paul is writing instructions to the community, about community members. This passage was never meant to be applied to people outside the community. No Paul was speaking to a very specific situation that applies only to the Church.

Looking at the letter in its entirety; we find the overarching theme is Christ’s coming and rebuttal of false teachings about when Christ will return. We heard this in last Sunday’s second lesson from chapter 2: 

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 

In this community, false teachers were saying Christ was coming in a few days, weeks. Remember the “rapture” predictions from October 21^st this year? Some people believed so completely that they sold everything, quit their jobs, relinquished their pets. This is what is happening in the Thessalonian church. Some had quit work believing it wasn’t necessary anymore. They were content to live off the group for the short term until Christ arrived. Which impacted not only their fellow believers ability to care for the group, but also caring for the needy outside the community.

Now take a look at verse 10: “anyone unwilling to work.”  It’s not “anyone not working.” (checked the Greek – the word “unwilling” is in there and is the correct translation!) This misquote is has been often used to justify work requirements and denial of benefits. This is an appalling misuse of the verse. Paul most certainly did not have social safety net programs in mind when he said this.

This is where how we translate certain words gets really important. In verse 6, Paul warns about living in idleness and not following the example Paul set. Paul and his company earned their own way, not because they had to, but because they were setting an example for the community. It was a way of following Jesus, who set aside his rights to become human: they set aside their right to be supported by the community to demonstrate servant leadership. They freed up the community’s resources to be used to care for the poor around them. Those who were unwilling to work were being irresponsible and not following Jesus’ example.

The word translated in verses 6 and 11, as “idleness” is ataktos. The same cognate is used in verse 7 when Paul says they were not “idle.”

“Lazy” and “idle” are unfortunate choices which dilute the meaning of the passage and there are several translations that make this choice.

Ataktos has a military connotation: soldiers not in rank, not following orders. In common usage at the time, it meant disorderly, unruly, insubordinate. While it could mean “lazy” or “idle” those meanings were a result of disorderly, insubordinate behavior. It’s easy to see that Paul is issuing specific instructions to members of the community, not a general proscription, for only community members would be expected to follow Christ’s orders.

There’s also a word play that get’s lost in English. In verse 11, the word Paul uses for “busybodies” literally means “works around.” In contrast to Paul’s example of work, these people are busy doing the opposite of Paul’s example, not working faithfully, but being disruptive. As a commentator put it “It is not so much that believers had given up on their work to do nothing; rather, they had given up on work to make trouble” (working preacher commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Nijay Gupta). 

Paul is not speaking to those who are unable to work for whatever reason, not to those who cannot find work, and most certainly not to those outside the community of believers.

After chastising the troublemakers, Paul then encourages the community: Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

So, when someone says, “after all the Bible says, those who don’t work shouldn’t eat.” You can respond, “Paul didn’t say those who cannot work or cannot find adequate work shouldn’t eat. He was addressing those in the community of believers who weren’t doing their part to care for each other and the needy among them.” I could snarkily add, “only busybodies judge the validity of someone else’s need, only those who thrive on disruption, cruelty and chaos would deny food to the hungry.” But I wouldn’t add that because snark is never helpful. Oh well.

The point is there’s an expectation that members of the community of believers will work to not only provide for themselves – as they are able! – but to provide for each other and the ministry of the community. Christians from the very beginning took care of each other and took care of those around them. A famous complaint from the 4^th century Roman Emperor Julian: …the impious Galileans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see our people lack aid from us. **

This is one of the reasons the early church grew so quickly. People were attracted to their generosity and then learned Jesus was the reason. 

I going to go as far as to say, it’s one of the reasons the church in the United States is not growing. People see the lack of aid, from the busybodies who judge the validity of someone else’s need and want to make sure no one gets anything they didn’t get. And it’s disrupting the work of the Church.

Which make is even more imperative that we follow the example of Christ in offering hospitality, caring for the least of these, caring for each other. Working as we are gifted, as we are able for the glory of God.

Following in the footsteps of our master, Jesus Christ.

**Excerpts from a letter by Roman Emperor Julian, written to a pagan priest:

[the pagan church should] … start acting more like the Christians and being generous to those in need!.. We ought then to share our money with all people, but more generously with the good, and with the helpless and poor so as to suffice for their need. And I will assert, even though it be paradoxical to say so, that it would be a pious act to share our clothes and food even with the wicked. For it is to the humanity in a person that we give, and not to their moral character. Hence I think that even those who are shut up in prison have a right to the same sort of care, since this kind of philanthropy will not hinder justice.…For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see our people lack aid from us.