Good News from a Misunderstood Text

'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. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.'

--II Thessalonians 3: 6-13

The above Scripture, which was the prescribed Epistle reading from this past Sunday, contains one of the most difficult sentences in the entire New Testament:  “For even when we were with you we gave you this command, anyone unwilling to work should not eat.”  I’ve never been one to shy away from hard Scriptures, and because this one has been so misunderstood and has been used to malign the poor, the hungry, and the homeless, I think it is really important that we tackle rather than ignore it.

First, a word about the Second Letter to the Thessalonians as a whole.  Though we may be quick to assume that it is a sequel to I Thessalonians, a letter that is indisputably written by Paul, there is strong evidence to suggest that Paul likely was not the author of this letter.  We know this not only from the letter’s tone, its sentence structure, and the use of certain verb tenses, as well as other factors that we find when we analyze the original Greek text.  The fact that the text’s authorship is disputed doesn’t mean we should throw it out, however; in fact, it was a common practice in the ancient world for a person or group to assign the authorship of something to a mentor, teacher, or other reputable source.  This is not a cause for alarm, but we do have to bear the letter's authorship in mind when we hold it up next to pieces that we are sure Paul himself wrote. 

Nevertheless, as we read II Thessalonians we can see that the author is writing to a community that is, how shall we say, troubled.  The immediacy of Jesus’ return any second now is causing all kinds of problems. Certain members of the community are forsaking their duties, both in worship and in work,; after all, why put in a long-term commitment if Jesus is on his way?  To add to this stress, some members are so discouraged by the persecutions that they are facing that they have little to no motivation to participate in the life of the community.  These folks are effectively living off the work and witness of their brothers and sisters. An example of this for us today  might be someone who never comes to church, who never participate in the life of the community, and yet still wishes to reap the benefits thereof.  This attitude of idleness, which appears to include eating food that they themselves did not work for, is what the author is speaking against. 

We have to stop right here and take note of the fact that the concerns being raised in this letter are for matters within this Christian community.  The author’s denouncements are not directed toward, say, the homeless person sleeping outside the church door or the woman and her kid asking for help on the street corner.  Verse 6 introduces the idleness problem with this command: “keep away from believers who are living in idleness.” Also, we must note that the word idleness is not exactly a perfect translation of the Greek word ataktos, which primarily describes behavior that is insubordinate or irresponsible, not lazy. Thus, the letter implies that there is an expectation for what living in Christian community looks like, and what it doesn’t look like is shirking one’s responsibilities, chaffing at the constraints imposed by the needs and wishes of others, or refusing to fully participate in the life of the community. The problem being addressed here is how Christians treat one another.  It’s not how we handle laziness or the issues of poverty, hunger, or homelessness.  Context, with this and all Scriptures, is everything.

Unfortunately, some Christians do not realize this.  Earlier this year someone cited Matthew 25: 36-43 in a post on the Facebook page of Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota.  You know that passage:  I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was sick and you visited me, etc. etc.  The congressman’s response?  He cited II Thessalonians 3: 10, pointing out that the Bible does not condone offering handouts or food to someone who doesn’t work, to someone who is lazy.  Using this passage as an excuse not to give to those in need or to moralize against folks who are poor, hungry, or homeless, not only is a gross misuse of the text but also completely—and conveniently—ignores every other mandate in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels of Jesus to address the needs of every person who seeks help, which (in case you need a citation) can be found, among other places, in Deuteronomy 15: 11 in the Hebrew texts and in Luke 6: 30 in the Gospels.  This passage must never be used to label poor people as lazy, and it is our duty to understand its context, so that if and when we find ourselves in conversations with those who would have us believe that Scripture teaches us not to offer any assistance to those unable to work or in some other great need, then we will be ready to correct their course—in all Christian love, of course.

What, then, is the text about?  What is the good news if it is not a far-reaching indictment of “lazy” people?  The ultimate goal of the admonition in this text is to bring people back into the community.  Too many of the Thessalonians were relying on Jesus’ immediate second coming.  In the Gospel text that accompanied this Epistle, we hear Jesus talk about what that day will look like, and frankly, it's enough to make anyone quit their job, stop going to church, or give up caring about almost anything  Here's how Jesus describes it:  

'Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.' 

--Luke 21: 10-12

But what these folks, and many Christians today, seem to have forgotten is that being in Christian community is not about waiting around for Jesus to come back and set the world right again. Christians living in community with one another have a responsibility to each other. When a person is not present in the gathered assembly, then the community is worse off.  When all gather around the table, but someone is not there, then the community is cheated of the precious gift of that person's presence.  Each member of the community matters because each is the reflection of Christ, and each brings with them something that nobody else can provide.  Those Thessalonians who were focused so much on Jesus' return figured such matters weren't important, but they could not have been more wrong.  The question every Christian should be asking themselves is not “Do I need to go to church today?” but rather “Who needs me to be in church today?”  It’s that sense of communal responsibility that the Thessalonians had forgotten, and it’s something that we could certainly stand to be reminded of today.

One of the top Google image searches for 'Christian community.'

But with everything in us, we must resist the urge to see this text as an invitation to judge others.  We must always be a people of justice, not judgment.  Justice is about God working through people to ensure that each and every person is able to live the life abundant as a grace-given child of God, making no negative proclamation on a person’s value or worth.  Judgment, meanwhile, is reserved exclusively for God, who has preordained all of us as beloved and forgiven.  

If we’re not careful, we could take this text as in invitation to be the very worst kind of judgmental, passive-aggressive, shaming Christian, those who use the Scriptures as a curtain behind which to hide their apathy..  Instead, let us hear this text in the manner it was originally intended, as instruction for us to be accountable to one another in the context of our particular Christian communities.  Let us embrace the unique experiences, perspectives, and talents that we each bring, and let us be eager to share them with one another.  When we approach even a complicated piece of Scripture like this one in such way we find that it is, in fact, good news.