Working while we wait

The waiting room

Earlier, this year, when I took my family up to the Baptist World Congress in Brisbane, because we got their a day before the congress started, we decided to spend a day at Movie World on the Gold Coast.

Now, if you ever decide to go to Movie World, can I make a suggestion… avoid days when both Queensland and NSW are on school holidays.

Let me describe my day for you. The theme park opens at 10am, and so we made sure we got there before it opened. A few minutes after 10am we were through the main gates, and we decided to go straight for the ride known as the DC Hypercoaster. The hope was that if we got there quick enough, the line wouldn’t be too long.

Now the line was a bit deceptive. Whne you first get to it, it doesn’t look too long. I estimated probably about 15 or 20 minutes, and we’d be on the ride. Oh was I wrong. Half an hour ticked by, and we started getting twitchy. An hour ticked by, and we were getting even more restless. Finally, after an hour and a half, we finally got on the ride. The ride only lasted 90 seconds mind you.

The time was now 11:30, and we thought - let’s do another ride. We chose the Superman ride. Now, if you thought an hour and a half was long. This time, we waited two and a half hours. It was two and a half hours of doing absolutely nothing.

The ride was great - but that wait was very frustrating. We’d now spent 4 hours, and only had 2 rides to show for it.

Now that wait was our choice. But there are a lot of other places where we are forced to wait for a long time.

I’m sure all of you have spent time in a doctors waiting room, or that waiting area outside of ER at the hospital. This can be hours.

Now, the thing about waiting, is that for a short period of time, it’s fine.

You know, if I were to wait in a theme park ride line for, say, 15 minutes, the excitement of it all would mean the time would pass quick enough, that I had hardly enough time to get restless. But when the waiting gets beyond the point that we think is reasonable, these thoughts start bubbling up in our mind. Thoughts of discontent. We have thoughts about how things should have been improved… about how someone could come up with a better system, so poor little people like us don’t have to suffer so bad.

We sit in the waiting room of the doctor surgery - this is an outrage. They should have more courtesy to us in the waiting room.

It’s the idleness that is the real killer. Because unfortunately, while our bodies might be idle, our minds are not, and if we’re not careful, it can lead us down a very bad path.

And it’s this very concept that we’re going to look at today.

You see, as Christians we’re all waiting for something. Something that is far far far superior than a theme park ride, and something far more important than a doctors visit. We’re waiting for the return of Jesus.

Now, here’s the thing… we can very easily turn our wait for the return of Jesus into a kind of waiting room. Where we just stop everything and think about what is coming ahead. Or perhaps like the queue in the amusement park, where we get excited but a little inpatient as things don’t get closer.

Today, as we come to the last chapter of our walk through Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, we’re going to see the great danger of this, and what we need to do instead.

Context

So let’s start by looking at the context of where this chapter fits.

If you’ve been following this series, you’ll know this background, but let’s do a very quick recap.

On Paul’s second missionary trip, he went through Macedonia, and one of the churches he established in that region was thhe church in Thessalonica, (or Thessaloniki as it is sometimes known - as it is today). The church grew fast, but unfortunately, it also caused a lot of angst among the Jewish population that existed there. For a period of time, Paul taught these new believers, some of which were Jews that had accepted Christ, but a significant number were actually Greeks that had been interested in what the Jews had been doing - a group of people known as the God-fearers.

Paul was able to teach them for a short period, but a group of angry Jews ended up running Paul and some of his travelling companions out of town.

It was shortly after this time that Paul actually wrote the letters that we’ve been going through over the last few months. We don’t know exactly when they were written, or how long there was between the first and second letter, but it’s usually thought that it was only a matter of months.

Well, I mentioned that Paul had been teaching them while he was with them, and while we might know everything he taught, by going through the letters, one thing seems clear - the topic of the return of Jesus seems to be prominent.

As you go back over the letters, even the sections that were not specifically about the second coming, it’s never too far from the conversation. Take for example 1 Thess 1 which was about the faith of the Thessalonians. The very last verse then just casually adds how they’re also waiting for Jesus to come back.

Again in the second chapter of that first letter, Paul just happens to add in the last verse how their hope and joy is in knowing that the Lord Jesus will return.

Go to the third chapter, and you’ll also find in the very last verse a reference that they need to strengthen their hearts as they wait for the coming of Jesus.

In the fourth chapter, this topic that’s just hovering over everything else Paul’s been talking about, then becomes the focus, specifically in the second half of that chapter.

It becomes clear that they had begun to get worried about their Christian brothers and sisters, some of whom had died, we’re going to miss out because they’ve died before Jesus returned. Paul’s point there was to assure them that they didn’t need to worry.

But what I want you to take note of for the purposes of today’s message, is that it is here that we start to notice the first hint that there waiting on the Lord had started to become a little restless.

It’s a little bit like being in the doctors waiting room - have they forgotten me? has the doctor gone home and they forgot to tell me? Did I get the time wrong and turn up too late?

As we get into the second letter, the second coming becomes an even more dominant theme. Even in the first chapter where persecution is in picture, it’s spoken with the second coming clearly in the backgound.

But if you were here last week, it was in the second chapter, where Paul starts giving what I think is perhaps some of the clearest teaching on the second coming. Now I say that, but if you listened to my message last week, I was quite deliberate about not being too definitive in how we interpret some of these matters. But what was clear is that a man of lawlessness will appear, many will be decieved, but Jesus will come back and overthrow this lawless one.

So given the amount of time Paul has spent on matters either directly or indirectly related to the second coming, you can see this is something that has dominanted the thoughts of these new believers.

But there can be a trap with such thoughts. They can become all-consuming. And while I would acknowledge that we should have a good understanding of the second coming - an over-emphasis can lead us down a very tricky path.

I’m going to suggest that it can lead to idleness. Not idleness of the mind - but avoiding the work that needs to be done.

A healthy understanding of end times should spur us on to good works. An overemphasis leads to questions of dates and fulfilments of signs, without any concern for how I continue to be Christs hands and feet in this world.

Avoiding the idle

Now, I’m going to skip over the first five verses. Actually, I’m going to go a little out of order, and I’m going to consider these first five verses in my concluding message next week.

As we jump down to verse 6, we then get the warning - “we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the treaching you received from us”.

Now, before we continue, it’s worth giving just a little consideration to who Paul has in mind when he talks about the idle people.

Perhaps when we think of an idle person, maybe the first image that pops into your head is the dole bludger. It’s perhaps a caricature, and maybe not even always a fair caricature, but we think of someone who like to get their welfare cheque while doing whatever they want to do.

Now, this kind of idleness is a problem and does need to be avoided, however, in the context of the letter, I want to suggest that Paul is primarily thinking about a different group of people. For starters, there was no welfare system back then. If you didn’t work back then, it was because you couldn’t, for example because of a disability… or there was a specific reason not to.

And in the context, it would seem that there specific reason in this case, is the preoccupation with end times.

So, let’s think about this… we get a group of people that are preoccupied with endtimes. Because everything is focussed on only one aspect of Paul’s teaching, they stop following the teaching received from Paul, teaching that has very clear practical outworkings. And so they become idle. They stop doing what they should. More than that, they become disruptive.

Their disruption is in their poor conclusions.

You might recall last week when we looked at the man of lawlessness, the implication was that people were getting unsettled by poor conclusions, and we’re actually part of those being deceived.

The irony is that having a preoccupation with endtimes, we can actually become more susceptible to being deceived.

So what are we to do? Well, Paul says, keep away from them.

Maybe that might seem harsh. But note, it doesn’t say disfellowship them. In fact, later in verse 15, we’ll see it even says, don’t treat them as you would an enemy.

The words “keep away” actually hold the conotation of holding aloof. You just need to be careful around them. Don’t get sucked into the path they have gone down.

They’re still believers, and so they are still brothers and sisters in Christ. Just be careful.

Follow the example of those not idle

So, after telling them to avoid those who are idle in verse 6, verse 7 gives us the flip side of this - that is, Paul tells them to follow his example - someone who was not idle.

Paul worked hard. He was not just a person who loved talking theoretical theology. For Paul, theology divorced from real world action was essentially a false theology.

Now, in the case of Paul, his working hard extended to earning his own living.

He doesn’t say here, but if were to look at Acts 18:3, we read that Paul was actually a tentmaker.

Now, while there is only this one verse specifically mentioning the tentmaking trade, it is generally assumed that this is the means in which Paul was able to financially support himself.

Now, Paul’s not insisting that all ministers of the Word need to financially support themselves. He alludes to it here in verse 9, but makes the point in a stronger way in 1 Corinthians 9 where he argues that as someone who proclaims the good news should be entitled to be looked after.

But what Paul insists, is that everyone, regardless of whether you have a specific ministry role or not, should work hard in being the people God wants us to be. And Paul is putting himself forward as an example of this.

Now, let me just look at Paul’s argument here… he’s saying in verse 6, stay away from the idle, and in verse 7, follow my good example.

The bigger picture for us is this - choose who you look up to. And don’t choose by looking at who has the best theory, choose by who is living out their life best. Choose by following the person who seems to be most Christ-like in their character.

The unwilling shall not eat

Now, before I move on, I just want to make a quick remark about verse 10. Paul repeats a little saying that he told them while he was with them… “the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat”.

It is very easy to use this verse today as a means for suggesting the welfare system is not good. The logic goes, if someone is just lazy, then the best lesson to give them is let them go without. And when people are just choosing to be lazy, I would agree. But I’d argue that this verse is not trying to suggest a welfare system is bad policy.

And I’d argue this because I do believe that the context is those who are using theological loopholes to not work. The reason I think a welfare system is important, is because the vast majority of welfare reicipients get it because they can’t get adequate employment, for example, because of health reasons.

It is important that we have a good work ethic as believers.

Don’t be a busybody

Now, in verse 11, Paul highlights another problem with the idle person.

They become busybodies!

One of the good things about being busy, is that your mind is focussed on achieveing whatever task you have set before you. You don’t really have time to focus on what others are doing, unless it has some very direct link with what you are doing.

When you’re not busy, our mind wanders, and it often wanders to the lives of others in our lives. We start to make assumptions about what others are thinking. We start to get involved in thinking about how they should improve themselves. The irony of course is that we generally give ourselves very little thought in how to improve ourselves, but we give plenty to other people.

The busybody become a very disruptive force in the church. They might convince themselves that they are noble in their intent, but too often, it’s a result of having an overactive mind because you’re not busying yourself with what you’re meant to be doing.

The antidote to this is given in verse 13: “never tire of doing what is good”.

Application

So what does all of this mean for us?

If you’re one who gets obssesed with talk of the end times, there’s a warning. The warning is not to stop thinking about end times altogether. Rather, the warning is to assess where you are putting your energies. If all of your energy is going into thinking about dates and times and signs, then you have missed the point of the Christian faith.

We’re told - they will know us by our fruit. We’re not going to be producing much fruit if we’re not actually moving in our community and helping those in need.

But perhaps your thinking about endtimes is a bit more in perspective. There’s still a warning for you as well. You’re still in danger of not putting much energy into producing fruit. We can actually become idle for a number of reasons.

So whatever you’re thoughts are on the endtimes, make sure you spend time looking at the character of Jesus. Look at the way he cared for the vulnerable. The way that he gave hope to the hopeless. The way that he showed forgiveness to the sinner. Be this person.

Now before I wrap things up, just a clarification - sometimes, there are reasons we need to slow down. Maybe for health reasons, and that includes mental health as well. Maybe for age. Maybe because of certain life circumstances. If there are external circumstances, don’t think that this passage is trying to have a go at you. This is rather trying to correct a common problem.

Conclusion

The truth is, endtimes discussion, and living a life worthy of the gospel should go hand-in-hand. Certainly it did for Paul, which is why he became so dismayed when he saw the Thessalonians get it so wrong.

So work hard, both in the way you earn your living, and the way you act in a Christ-like manner towards others.

Avoid people who are idle and disruptive, and conversely, follow the exmple of those who work hard.

I started by speaking about some of the long waits we need to do.

The great thing is, the wait for the return of Jesus is not like this kind of wait - that is, it’s not the wait we’re we just sit and let our minds get overactive.

Rather, the waiting on the Lord, is a waiting where we remain active for him.

Let me pray...