2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
It tire of seeing people with signs standing at street corners begging. Some have legitimate needs. Others do not. I recently have seen several with their pet dogs sitting with them. I want to say, “Get rid of the dog and you will have enough money to eat,” but I have restrained by responses.
It can be difficult to discern true need from panhandling, at least for me. I have heard the stories of the panhandler making more income than I do. I have also known people with real need. I haven’t figured out how to be a good steward of my resources with these roadside encounters.
The early church had some unwritten rules about those who received charity help. They had set up a system to help orphans and widows. That was in place. Those with disabilities were encouraged to beg, and a good Jewish person would give as part of their religious duties.
But apparently there was another class of people present at this time. They were able-bodied, but choose not to work. Some were doing it because they anticipated Jesus’ rapid return, so they reasoned that work just didn’t matter.
Paul counters that if we are able to work, we should work. Laziness was not allowed. Twiddling our thumbs was not allowed, a precursor of spending hours on our handheld devices! Our energies were not just for us; they were so that we would have the resources to help others who were unable to work.
I often think that this is very good advice, something that would work well in our society. But then I am faced with the challenge of finding work for these many unskilled workers, often in places where there aren’t many jobs for unskilled people. They would need enough work in order to be able to provide food for themselves. And then where would they stay? Are we to supply living accommodations as well to people unwilling to work?
As you can see, this is a complicated issue in our modern society. In less technically advanced societies, day labor is much more readily available. There are few regulations about worker conditions and pay rates. In these societies, people with few skills can find enough work to feed themselves, but barely.
So how do we apply this principle of a work ethic in our situation today? I think it is two pronged. Those with resources should work to provide opportunities for this type of labor. Maybe we get rid of some of the machines that make things easier and allow people to do this work, providing them with a wage that helps them eat. But the machine cost much less than the ‘living wage’ that is being demanded by politicians, so employers use the machines.
But then we need to raise the dignity of these types of jobs. Working is to provide not just resources for living, but a sense of dignity and accomplishment. When someone is willing to work at a difficult and possibly demeaning job, we need to work to lift them up, supplying the honor due them for doing tasks we ourselves are not willing to do.
We can’t encourage freeloading. Work is a good thing. And right now, there are more open positions than at many other times in our society. We must encourage those who are out of the workforce, for whatever reason, to take the opportunity to earn their living. And when we meet people who are at the bottom of our stratified system, make the extra effort to encourage them. Tip big! Express appreciation. Take the time to acknowledge them and their contribution to our collective lives.
The Arnold Journey 