Working

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2 Thessalonians 3:9–11 (NKJV)"…not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies."

What it is speaking to me

I grew up watching my dad work. He worked hard. He worked full time, he worked on the house, he volunteered hard at church. He was a worker. He would teach me about the value of hard work, how much it mattered to work hard for your employer, for a friend, for the church, whatever it was...and then he would just live that right in front of me. He practiced what he preached. And whether I wanted to admit it or not, it got into me. I work hard because I watched someone work hard.

That is exactly what Paul is describing here. He tells the Thessalonians plainly: we had every right to be supported by you. We could have received your hospitality and let you carry us. But we didn't, not because the principle was wrong, but because we wanted to give you something to follow. We wanted to be the example.

Perhaps they decided to make that example because some in the church had gone the opposite direction entirely. They were not working at all. Even worse they were busybodies. Idle hands and a meddling mouth tend to travel together. When we are not engaged in purposeful work, we have a remarkable ability to fill that space with involvement in things that are not ours to be involved in.

Paul is not just talking about a job here. He is talking about a posture toward life. A willingness to contribute, to carry your own weight, to be useful in the community around you. Working, whether it is your career, your home, your church, your neighborhood is not a curse. It is a calling. It was put into the design of creation. It is participation in the world God gave us to steward.

And the example matters. Someone is always watching you the way I watched my dad. They may never tell you. But your posture toward work, toward responsibility, toward showing up — it is speaking into somebody.

What is it saying to you?

• Who has most shaped your work ethic by their example rather than their words?

• Where in your life might idleness be creating space for meddling — in others' business, relationships, or problems?

• What does it look like for you to be the example Paul is describing?

  
  

What are we going to do about it?

Identify one area today where you have been passive or disengaged, whether it is at work, at home, at church, or in a relationship. Take one concrete step back toward engagement.And do it knowing that someone around you is quietly taking notes.