Idle or Busy: Finding a Balance

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13              Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas         November 14, 2004

Do you ever find yourself in a quandary over striking a balance in your life between work and relaxation? Have you ever felt guilty about taking a break when you thought you should be working?

Or perhaps you’ve even experienced the opposite, working yourself into a frazzle when you knew deep down inside that you should be giving yourself a break.

Balancing work and relaxation is not the predicament, however, addressed in our Epistle Lesson from 2 Thessalonians. Rather, it addresses those who sit on the sidelines and let everyone else do the work. The author is quite blunt. He writes, “Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us.”

He goes on to be even more explicit, “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies not doing any work.” No wonder there is such thing as a strong Christian work ethic. The Old Testament, the Hebrew Scripture, has similar teaching, however.

Proverbs 6:6-11 is just as bold as 2 Thessalonians. Here, the author uses vivid imagery from nature. “Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest. How long will you  lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.” (NRSV)

I think we get the point. Of course we all agree that people should work. There is, however, more to it than that behind our passage. We must be careful, then, in our interpretation and application. What, perhaps, might the author of the letter to the Thessalonian church have been referring to when he cautioned them about idleness?

First, there is evidence that itinerant preachers, those who traveled from town to town, were becoming a problem as Christianity developed in the second half of the first century. Some of these pastors, it seems, outstayed their welcome and were leaching off the congregation they were visiting. Following the model set by the Apostle Paul, who worked to earn money even as he was establishing and visiting churches, these traveling preachers should also work to pay their way, rather than sponging off the congregation.

Perhaps that’s the logic behind the seemingly harsh words, “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.” This is not a cold-hearted reference, then, to those who find themselves unemployed. There’s a big difference between those not able to find work, and those not willing to work.

Nor does this passage seem to be intended for those who become overly weary and need a break from the hard work of running a church. The longer one takes a break, however, means the longer another must carry the load.

The Greek word ataktos, translated as ‘idle’ also carried a connotation of disorderly, insubordinate, or irresponsible behavior. Our scripture passage may be hinting that those who were idle were also apparently causing disorder amongst the congregation. This interpretation seems to be supported by the admonition in verse 13, “Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.”

There may be yet another possibility to why some church members in that ancient church congregation were idle. Some have speculated that fervent eschatological expectation (as in anticipating the immanent return of Jesus and the end of the world as we know it) have fueled a kind of retreat from engagement with the world.

If Jesus is coming back at any moment, the logic might run, then why would Christians continue to labor for food? Whether then or now, waiting on the rapture is not an acceptable excuse for not working and pulling one’s own weight in the community.

However, we must not try to completely explain away this tough demand to keep ourselves from idleness. Therefore, I want to offer each of you the following challenge: Prayerfully consider what is it that you can contribute to the common good and well-being of this congregation in the coming year. Whatever that is, I encourage you to fulfill that task. For there is wisdom in the understanding that we can fully carry out our mission as a church only if everyone pitched in and plays their part.

But in the process, make sure you don’t compare your contribution to that of any other church member. Let us not fall into the trap of judging ourselves, and our contribution, as better or worse than anyone else. Instead, let us each figure out what it is we are willing and capable of doing, and then following through with that commitment.

Unlike certain church members in Thessalonica who used their faith as a excuse for idle and irresponsible behavior, let us not be idle in body, mind, or spirit. As one biblical commentator writes, “The stern response of this early Christian writer insists that faith may not become an excuse for our own idleness. Faith does not wait for another to labor, for another to think, for another to pray. Faith plunges us into the reality of everyday life, even as it also insists that this life is not the whole story.”

So, in light of our nearly completed annual Stewardship Campaign, let us not be idle! Let us not become weary of doing what is right! For active church membership is not a spectator sport. And, as always, let us support, encourage, and perhaps admonish one another if necessary, along the way.   

Amen.