October 4

2 Thessalonians 3:10‑12
“Even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread” ―2 Thessalonians 3:10-1210For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 11For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. 12Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. (2 Thessalonians 3:10‑12).
EVIDENTLY there were those in the Thessalonian church who were obsessed with the idea that, since the Lord’s return is ever imminent, it was useless to work for daily sustenance. They preferred to be supported by their brethren who were in better circumstances than themselves. Such demonstrated the truth of the saying, “Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.” Living careless, idle lives, they became thoughtless in speech and were troublemakers as they went from one home to another expressing themselves with undue freedom.
God has ordained that man should live by labor (Gen. 3:1919In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19)). To attempt to go through this world as a parasite, subsisting on that which others have earned, is to bring dishonor upon the name of the Christ whom they profess to serve.
This is the gospel of labor; ring it, ye bells
of the kirk, —
The Lord of Love comes down from above
to live with the men who work;
This is the rose that He planted, here in
the thorn-cursed soil—
Heaven is blessed with perfect rest, but
the blessing of earth is toil.”
—Henry Van Dyke.