2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

2 Thessalonians 3:6-18 (NLT)
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and doesn’t follow the tradition of hard work we gave you. 7 For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 It wasn’t that we didn’t have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: “Whoever does not work should not eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and wasting time meddling in other people’s business. 12 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we appeal to such people—no, we command them: Settle down and get to work. Earn your own living. 13 And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. 14 Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. 15 Don’t think of them as enemies, but speak to them as you would to a Christian who needs to be warned. 16 May the Lord of peace himself always give you his peace no matter what happens. The Lord be with you all. 17 Now here is my greeting, which I write with my own hand—PAUL. I do this at the end of all my letters to prove that they really are from me. 18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

DEVOTION: “Leisure or laziness?” Chris Bunch
In an economy where so many folks have lost their jobs or know someone who has lost their job———-the value and importance of work has never been higher. Work for some people is an addiction——which is not healthy. For other people, work is a four letter word that they hate and avoid———which is not healthy either. Those who tend to be addicted need to learn the importance of leisure and relaxation. Those who see work as a four letter word need to understand the dangers of laziness. Paul says this in verse 10,“Whoever does not work should not eat.” Paul and his companions were very clear about being diligent workers as they ministered to others, so that they would not become a burden to the believers. Unfortunately, our culture often lives with a concept of entitlement: that a person deserves certain things and they should not have to work for it. This in my opinion is laziness. Laziness if you are not careful can destroy you. I have watched people go from working to living off of the welfare system and have watched as they slowly die from boredom, depression and discouragement. Work gives us a sense of worth and importance. It provides not only for our financial needs, but it allows us to honor God. If you know someone who is living off the system——-remind them of how this can destroy their lives.
On the other hand, choosing not to have leisure in your life is destructive as well. You see, things like recreation and relaxation are needed for any person to have a balanced life. I know for myself when I am not exercising and taking time off from work regularly——-I become more anxious and less healthy. So, take time to simply be. Remember God did not create human doings but human beings.
So, where are you on the continuum of work? Are you addicted to work? Or do you look at work as a four letter word? Do you need to add some more leisure to your life or do you need to add some more determination to get beyond your laziness? Take the time today to set one goal toward overcoming laziness or one goal to engage in a leisure activity this week. And let me know Sunday how you are doing.

PRAYER:
God, thank you for the gift of work. Help me not to slip into being addicted and help me not to become lazy. Give me balance in my life today between work and play. Help to rest when I should be resting and work when I should be working. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.