The early church was incredibly generous and supportive of the poor but there were evidently some who were taking advantage of the generosity and living off the gifts of the richer people. The belief that the day of the Lord had come may have encouraged their attitude. Paul comes down hard on this and upholds the value of diligence. There is nothing spiritual about idleness. Some people adopt an idle lifestyle to have time to be more ‘spiritual’ or because they want to withdraw from the world. But there is no justification for this. We are to be diligent so we can be a blessing to others. God wants you to make good use of whatever he has given you. He wants you to be productive and fruitful with what you have. If you work in a trade, for example, then God wants you to be a good and productive tradesperson. If you work for some company, then God wants you to bless that company with your best efforts. God wants us to work hard so that we can contribute bountifully to our community, even in a volunteer capacity. We are to be givers, not takers. This doesn’t mean that we should not accept help when we need it, and we also must be careful not to overwork. Paul is advocating hard work as a vital ingredient for building good character. Idleness, on the other hand makes too much room for temptation, as the saying goes: “Idle hands make the devil’s work.”
Ask God to make you a blessing to all those that you work for.
Read 2 Thessalonians 3
