Pulling Your Weight - 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

When I was in college our ministry took canoe trips at least once a year. We’d camp, canoe, swim, and just have a good time together. One of the things we observed, however, is that canoeing all day with another person tends to reveal things about their (and your) character. We always joked that if a couple who was dating managed to enjoy a canoe trip together, they were meant to be. The reason for this is simple: being in a canoe requires you to work together. It requires you to each pull your weight, to listen to each other, and to coordinate your actions. Not everyone does well in a canoe.

As the Apostle Paul closes out his letter to the Thessalonians, he reminds us that we need to pull our weight in the church as well. It is tempting for us to sit back and coast, allowing everyone else to do the hard work for us, but that’s not how we are supposed to live at all. Paul goes so far as to say that when we see others who are coasting and not pulling their weight, we have a responsibility to correct them and help them do their part.

Idle Hands

Paul starts by stating the issue,

6And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. 7For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. 8We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

11Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, NLT)

Paul condemned those who were living idle lives. Most likely these people were depending on the generosity of the church as opposed to working to meet their own needs. They were choosing to be idle as opposed to putting their efforts into things that mattered.

It is important for us to be clear on what Paul is and isn’t saying in these verses. Paul is not saying that people should never accept help from the church. Far from it. One of the great hallmarks of the church is that it helps those in need. As a church, we have a responsibility to care for other people when we see a need. That may be as simple as giving someone a ride, making a meal, doing repairs at their house, or giving them some money to carry them through, but we have a responsibility to help those with a genuine need.

When Paul described his pattern of never accepting food from people without paying for it, he was not saying it is wrong to accept help from the church. His situation was unique. He was serving as a missionary, and there would have been many who would have seen his message as suspect if he was being supported by those to whom he preached. They might have concluded that Paul was only “in it for the money”. Paul wanted to take that option away from people, so he didn’t allow anyone to give him anything.

What does these mean for vocational pastors today? Must those who serve in pastoral ministry support themselves by means of another job? Is it wrong for them to accept pay from the church? Not at all. Paul clearly says here that he and his companions had the right to be fed (or supported) by the church, but they chose not to exercise that right. In other places in Paul’s letters he says those who work at preaching and teaching should make their living that way. So, it is not wrong for those whose work is preaching and teaching to be supported by the church.

What is Paul saying? He is saying that those who have the ability and opportunity to work but choose not to should not be supported by the church.

We don’t know why there were some people in the church who had chosen not to work. Some have speculated that because of their belief that the end times were already upon them, some in the church had decided it would be foolish to waste their time on earthly pursuits like working a job. They might have argued that to do so was to store up treasures on earth instead of treasures in heaven.

These people weren’t pulling their weight. They weren’t working, but they still needed to eat, and they expected the church to take care of them. Here’s the problem: if everyone chose to not work and simply rely on the church to take care of them, the church wouldn’t have the resources to care for anyone!

Apparently, even when Paul and his companions were with the Thessalonians they had instituted a very simple rule: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” The concept is simple—if you have the ability and opportunity to work and to contribute, but choose not to, you should not receive any support from the church. You should pull your weight.

We need to remember what the early church’s worship probably looked like. When they met for worship, they often would have a meal together (this may be where we get the idea of church potlucks!) Everyone would contribute to the meal, and they would enjoy it together. Unfortunately, some were simply working the system—enjoying the food without contributing themselves! Paul said these people should be excluded from the meals.

Again, we need to be careful here. This command applies to those who are unwilling to work, not those who are unable to work, whether because of physical limitation or lack of job opportunities. The church was not wrong in helping those who were in need, who for whatever reason were unable to support themselves. That’s exactly what the church should do. But for those who were simply preying on the generosity of others, Paul has no sympathy. These people, he said, should receive no support whatsoever. In fact, Paul directs the church to exclude these people so they may turn from their sin.

The Cost of Idleness

We’ve talked about the practical reasons why people refusing to pull their weight was bad, but we must not miss another reason Paul condemns such behavior. He says that when we aren’t engaged in the things we should be doing, we tend to devote our energy to things we shouldn’t.

11Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living.

Here’s what was happening. Because these people were no longer busy at their regular work, they had to find other ways to occupy their time. Unfortunately, this meant that they began meddling in other people’s business! I like the way the NIV translates it: “They are not busy; they are busybodies.” Sometimes we work harder at being in everyone else’s business than we do at minding our own. This too is destructive to the church.

So how do we know whether we are keeping busy or whether we have become busybodies? Here’s a simple test: do you spend more time focused on the things you need to be doing for the Lord, or on the things you think others should be? Do you spend your time thinking about all the ways other people are not pulling their weight, or about what you need to be doing to make sure you’re pulling yours? Do you tend to look more closely at the lives of others or do you turn that same magnifying glass inward? Busybodies spend all their time trying to fix everyone else. And they have lots of time, because they aren’t using it to do what they need to be doing in their own lives!

The people who weren’t pulling their weight weren’t sitting at home doing nothing, they were putting their time and energy into things that were destructive instead of working at the things they should have been. This should be a solemn warning to each of us. The fact that we are constantly busy does not necessarily mean that we are engaged in the Lord’s work or that our busyness is pleasing to the Lord. It is important that we direct our time and energy into things that serve God’s Kingdom rather than those that undermine it.

How to Respond

It is important to note the response that Paul prescribes to the church for dealing with these people.

13As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

14Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. 15Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister. (2 Thessalonians 3:13-15, NLT)

Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians is not to associate with those who are idle. This is often referred to as church discipline. Church discipline is a touchy subject, especially in our society today, because we think no one has a right to stick their nose in our business. We bristle at the idea of someone else telling us that what we are doing is wrong when we know full well that they are sinful people too.

Here’s the thing we have to see; part of the role of the church is for us to help one another. Sometimes that means we help meet physical or practical needs, but it also means we are to help each other spiritually. This means we encourage one another with the truth of scripture, and sometimes it means we correct each other when we see someone going down the wrong path. Church discipline sometimes gets a bad rap because people think it is unloving and mean-spirited. And sometimes the way it is carried out is mean and unloving. But that’s not what the Bible tells us should happen.

Notice what Paul said. He said the goal of withdrawing fellowship from these individuals was that they may feel ashamed—but that they should not treat the person as an enemy but as a brother. The goal is not to make people feel bad about themselves, but to help people to walk in the right direction. The goal of church discipline is very simple: repentance and restoration. It is never about condemnation. It is not punishment. It is correction. The moment people see the error of their ways, we are to forgive them and restore them to fellowship. We should rally around them instead of kicking them while they’re down.

So what does this mean practically? When do we engage in church discipline? Any time we see someone going down a path that is destructive we have a responsibility to warn them. But we need to be careful to first turn that searchlight on ourselves. We must deal with our sin as well. And we must always approach people with love—never in anger, in pride, or with the intent to wound or put someone in their place. The goal should always be correction. Jesus tells us the pattern is simple: the fewer people we can involve the better. So we should always start by talking to a person one on one. We should be honest yet loving about the sin we see in their lives and encourage them to repent. If that doesn’t work, we should take another along. If that doesn’t work, we should involve the leaders of the church. And if the person still won’t turn from their sin, then it is time for the church as a whole to act in order to help this person turn from their sin. We should always use the least amount of pressure we can to achieve the desired outcome—which is repentance, and ultimately restoration of the person.

The challenge is what sins do we confront? Every one of us surely has sins that we struggle with, and we don’t want to be constantly running around trying to correct every little sin in everyone else while ignoring the sin in our own lives—that would be being a busybody! I think the answer is that when we see people engaged in repeated, willful, and unrepentant sin that continues down a path of destruction, we need to act. A good rule of thumb is when keeping silent will cause more damage to the person than trying to act, then the loving thing to do is to step in before it’s too late. But no matter what, the key element in church discipline must always be love.

Final Words

Paul’s concluding words are important, so as we wrap up our study of 2 Thessalonians, we must take note of them.

16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. 17Here is my greeting in my own handwriting—Paul. I do this in all my letters to prove they are from me. 18May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:16-18, NLT)

Paul concludes with a simple prayer—that God would grant peace to the Thessalonians at all times and in every way. I suspect Paul understood this church was under attack, so he prayed God would strengthen them and give them peace, even in the midst of terrible circumstances.

How is it possible to have peace in the middle of conflict? How is possible to have peace when it feels like the world is crashing around you? It comes from trusting God more than your circumstances. It is possible to have peace when we recognize that God is still in control, and that He has promised everything that happens will ultimately be for good. When we really believe that we can have peace even in situations that are far from peaceful.

Some people have found Paul’s words here about writing in his own hand interesting, but there’s no great theological significance to it, rather it is a practical matter. Most of Paul’s letters were dictated to a person who transcribed them for him. This person was called an amanuensis. To give validity to his letters, Paul would often write the closing lines of the letter himself. It would be obvious that there was a change in handwriting, and Paul’s writing would have been much larger, since the professionals were trained to write small and neat because space was at a premium on a scroll. Paul’s handwritten closing was intended to verify the letter was written by him.

Conclusion

So what are we to take away from these verses? We have covered a lot of ground this morning, so let’s try to narrow our focus to some practical applications.

First, we must ensure we are engaged in fruitful work. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that just because you are busy you are doing good things. It is possible to expend tons of energy on things that don’t matter. Take some time and think about what you spend your time and energy on. Are there things that might be a better use of your time? If so then realign your priorities. Make sure you are pulling your weight and doing what God has called you to do for the Kingdom.

Second, keep doing what’s right even if it doesn’t seem to be getting you anywhere. Paul told the Thessalonian believers not to tire of doing what is right. I think he did this because he understood that sometimes it is frustrating when you look at the people around you—people you don’t think are pulling their weight, people who are taking shortcuts, people who are living in ways that are sinful—and conclude that it’s not worth the effort to do the right thing, because they seem to be getting away with their sinful lifestyle. Paul reminds us that it’s never wrong to do what’s right. Just because people seem to be “getting away with” sinful behavior now, we must remember that sin always catches up to us. But so do good deeds. So don’t get discouraged when your good deeds don’t seem to be rewarded just yet—one day they will be.

Third, we have a responsibility to care for each other like a family. The church is supposed to be a family that looks out for each other. Sadly we often forget that. We fight like a family sometimes, but we don’t love like one. When we see people in our church who are in need, we should rally to them. We should make sacrifices to help other believers. Sometimes this will mean finding practical ways to meet needs in the lives of others, whether that is by doing something for them, giving them money to help them through a difficult time, or simply taking the time to pray for them. The key to remember is that we have a responsibility to help each other.

But the other side of this coin is that we should watch out for each other spiritually as well. We must have the guts to lovingly warn someone when they are going down a bad path—a path that will ultimately harm them. But like family, our goal should always be to help them and restore them, never to hurt them or give up on them.

Finally, we must trust God above all else. If there is one takeaway from 2 Thessalonians it is this. No matter what situation we face, no matter what struggle we are in right now, when we see dark clouds gathering on the horizon we must trust God rather than our circumstances. Paul reminds us that God is in control, that His plan is perfect, and that if we will trust Him above all else, we can have peace even in the most turbulent of times.

I hope you remember this week that we are in this together. If you will, we are all in a canoe. And if we’re all pulling our weight and all paddling together, we can have a great time. If we’re not, the waters become much more difficult to navigate. So let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and row together.