Q1. Sloth and Idleness

[Reuben]

Q1. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15) What does the Bible teach about sloth and idleness among those who can work but refuse to? Summarize it briefly. What is our Christian duty?

The Bible teaches us that if we are lazy we should not get the help from others whom we are actually abusing, and should work, or work at getting work, to be able to rightfully deserve such help for we are in need. We are to help the poor and needy and we don this in love, but at the same time if a brother abuses your hospitality and charity he surely is NOT acting in love and this is against what the Bible teaches. 

Being idle is giving the enemy an opportunity to attack, and this will be prevented if we keep busy and provide for our own needs, or even just try to provide. As Christians we should help in love but we should also draw the line and lovingly point the errors out to our brothers and sisters. This is the perfect opportunity for the enemy to pounce , that is why we need to be discreet and wise in our actions.

[Jonathan Edwards]

Time to withdraw from such peoples that are disorderly.  We waste precious time associating with such characters in view of the Parousia. Yet, we are to admonish such brethren to stop meddling in other people's affairs, and to earn a livelihood.

Our Christain duty is to live quiet and busy lives as we await the Parousia.   Apostle Paul wouldn't tolerate laziness and meddlesome behaviours.   Such behaviours encourage Christian believers to not perservere in holiness; too much laziness and indolence just foster backsliding.  Apostle Paul knew that the Thessalonians needed to be busy and forget the idol religions that they came out of.   "Niptike theoria" watchful mindness is very important for the believer.   The early Desert fathers and monastic movements made this very clear to their members.  

 

[Krissi]

What does the Bible teach about sloth and idleness among those who can work but refuse to? Summarize it briefly. What is our Christian duty?

Most of the people I know, including myself, have the opposite problem -- we're compulsive workers, unable to relax. Compulsive workers find the contemplative aspects of Christian faith almost impossible to "achieve." For example, I have a difficult time clearing my mind for prayer.

I've met a handful of truly lazy people in my past -- none were christians -- who had either been born into money or received a windfall for some reason. The only work they did, in their minds, had to do had to be "fun." They became dissipated and lazy, self-indulgent and obsessed with the material objects. They shrank as people. By this I mean that they were less interesting to talk to because they had nothing to talk about! Instead of giving away their wealth, they hoarded it as they were spending. Money, oddly, had became the focus of their life perhaps because their status as wealthy individuals was all they had -- they had no real or meaningful accomplishments.

Without faith, if one's livelihood is assured, the problem of work becomes acute. (This is a great time to witness, by the way.)  Faith gives meaning to labor. A faithful person does not labor to exist, but labors because he/she LOVES other people and wants to serve them and because he/she loves God and want to obey Him. Labors become infused with meaning because they are no longer seen as a "job" but as a significant and important "calling."

I'm not opposed to the Protestant work ethic, by the way. It's a glorious idea, misunderstood by most. Essentially, this ethic weaves calling and work tightly together. In it, you work because you are called to work; it is your obedience to that calling that gives joy and direction to your life.