20 July 2014
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 (NIV)
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you,
brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live
according to the teaching you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our
example. We were not idle when we were with you,
8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the
contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be
a burden to any of you.
9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such
help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule:
"If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy;
they are busybodies.
12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ
to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is
right.
14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter,
take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel
ashamed.
15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a
brother.
-- there
once was this man who just wasn't feeling good -- and so his wife carried him
to the doctor -- the doctor spent quite a bit of time assessing the man's
condition -- looking him over carefully and asking him about his mental state
and what a normal day in his life looked like
-- after
the checkup was over, the doctor asked the man the man to wait outside for a
moment so he could talk to the wife -- He had a very somber look on his face
and asked her to sit down -- he said, “Your husband is suffering from a very
severe stress disorder -- he is overloaded at work and at home and it's killing
him -- If you don’t do what I ask, he is not going to make it -- Here’s what I
want you to do
--
"Get up early every morning before he wakes up and fix him a healthy
breakfast -- Make him a nutritious lunch to carry with him to work and prepare
a really special dinner every night -- Be pleasant at all times -- don't nag
him about anything -- Don’t burden him with chores or discuss your problems
with him -- don't ask him to do anything around the house -- until he is
healed, you are going to have to do almost all the work around the house -- if
you will do this for about a year, your husband will be healed and completely
regain his health"
-- the woman thanked the doctor and
left the office with her husband -- As they were driving home, the husband
turned to his wife and asked, “What did the doctor say?” -- his wife replied,
"He said you're going to die!"
-- this
wife just wasn't willing to follow the doctor's orders and do the work that it
would take to make her husband better -- for her, laziness was better than hard
work -- but isn't that the way of this world?
-- we are a
lazy people -- there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it -- our Western world has
made an art form out of laziness -- in fact doctors say the biggest health
problems plaguing the Western world today -- obesity -- heart disease -- high
blood pressure -- strokes -- diabetes -- are all directly correlated to our
sedentary lifestyle
-- according
to Nielson statistics, the average American spends 34 hours a week watching
live television and another 3-4 hours watching recorded shows -- that's five
hours a day on average that we sit in our living rooms, doing nothing but
watching TV and snacking
-- we've
even taken this to such extremes that we now recognize people for being the
best couch potato in the world -- a few years ago a Toronto man, Suresh Joachim,
broke the Guinness Book of World's Record's previous mark for the longest time
spent watching TV -- He spent 69 hours and 48 minutes in front of the
television, with only a five-minute break every hour and a fifteen-minute break
every 8 hours—all the rest of that time he had his eyes on the screen1
-- as one
writer on the internet put it -- "the reason sin abounds is simple: People
are lazy -- we are slothful, idle, immobile, inactive, and whatever other terms
describe just plain laziness"2
-- as I
began this series on the Seven Deadly Sins, this was the one sin I was worried
about the most -- this was the one sin I knew was going to be the most
convicting in my life
-- out of
all the seven deadly sins, slothfulness or laziness is the easiest sin of all
to fall into because it is the sin of inaction -- it is simply not doing
anything -- and it's so easy to get caught up in this
-- in a
spiritual sense laziness is the sin of not loving the Lord our God with all our
heart and soul and mind and strength -- it is the sin of not loving our neighbor
as ourselves -- it is the sin where procrastination lives -- "I'll do it
tomorrow -- I'll do it later"
-- just
yesterday I found myself in the midst of this deadly trap -- Kim had told me we
were going to pull a birdcage out of storage and get it cleaned up and carried
up to her shop because someone she knew wanted to buy it -- I told her,
"no problem -- I'll take care of it...later" -- and then she gets up
first thing in the morning and starts to pull it out of the shed by herself --
well, that just ruined all my plans -- I didn't want to do it now -- I wanted
to do it later -- of course, we all know that later never really comes -- I
didn't want to do anything now, but I couldn't let Kim do it by herself and me
just sit there and watch her -- so I had to get up and go out and help her
-- I live
in laziness -- I have made a career out of procrastination -- I had breakfast
with a friend on Friday and we were talking about this sermon series -- he had
just gone through this in his church a few months ago and asked me how it was
going -- I told him I was going to preach on laziness this weekend, but I
hadn't started on the message yet -- he just sat there and stared me and
grinned -- yeah, I saw the irony -- I was being lazy about starting a sermon on
laziness
-- not
doing our best -- not doing what we are called to do -- failing to take
advantage of God-given opportunities and abilities -- not living out our
responsibilities -- at work -- at home -- at school -- wherever -- this is what
the Bible means when it talks about laziness or any of the other terms it uses,
such as slothfulness or idleness
-- it is as
much a priorities problem as it is an activities problem -- you can be busy,
but still be lazy if you are neglecting what you should be doing -- as Tony
Campolo said, "Laziness is the sin by which we ignore our
obligations"
II. Setting and Background
-- this was
the state of a lot of the people in the church at Thessalonica -- they were
living in laziness -- they were inhabiting idleness -- they were settling for
slothfulness
-- Paul had
established the church at Thessalonica during his second missionary journey,
just after being released from prison in Philippi -- and it is likely he
visited this church several times as he traveled through Europe and Asia
-- in his
first epistle to this church, Paul had written them about the second coming of
Christ in order to correct some misinformation and rumors floating through this
community -- apparently, some in the church believed Paul's teachings concerning
the second coming meant Jesus was coming back in a matter of days, so they had
quit working, sold their businesses, and were just sitting around waiting for
the Lord to return
-- their
mindset was "The Lord is coming -- we don't need to waste time
working" -- you've heard the phrase, "too heavenly minded to be of
any earthly good" -- that was what was going on with these believers --
since they weren't working or providing for themselves, they were depending on
the welfare of others without participating in the vitality or responsibilities
of the community
-- these
believers remind me of a cult we had here in America a few years ago -- they believed
the end of the world was coming, so they sold all they owned and didn't do any
work -- they just sat around doing nothing, waiting for the end
-- that's
not what God would have us to do -- God created us to be involved in His work
on earth -- remember, work is not part of the curse -- work was created as a
blessing to Adam -- before the fall, Adam was created and put in the Garden to
work for God -- it was after the fall that work became more difficult
-- God's
plan from the beginning was for us to be involved in His work on earth --
physical and spiritual -- to take care of all that He has entrusted to our care
-- stewardship -- to share His resources with others through fellowship and
ministry -- and to learn more about Him and experience Him in our lives daily
-- the work of spiritual engagement
-- a person
is therefore called by God to do three things:
1)
Take care of your things
2)
Work to provide for God's people and share God's blessings with others
3)
Work to grow in the enjoyment of God
-- some in
the Thessalonian church were failing to live up to their responsibilities as
members of Christ's kingdom
-- so let's
look at this passage now and see what we can learn about avoiding their trap
and pitfall and the deadly sin of slothfulness
III. Scripture Lesson -- 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
-- verse 6
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you,
brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live
according to the teaching you received from us.
-- as we
begin looking at Paul's teachings on the deadly sin of slothfulness, I want you
to notice that he gives this teaching to the church at Thessalonica as a command
-- this was not a suggestion -- this was something that was vitally important
to the health and well-being of the Thessalonian church and to the well-being
of the individual believers -- in fact, as we go through this passage, you are
going to see Paul use the word "command" several times to make his
point about this sin
-- Paul had
taught them how to live as Christians -- he had taught them how a community of
faith should look -- he had demonstrated it with his life -- now he was
commanding them to do so
-- if you
look at the example of the New Testament church in Acts 2, you see a faith
community where everyone and everything is shared equally among the others --
it is a model of sacrificial living where you live out the commandments to love
the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and where
you love your neighbor as yourself -- it is Koinonia -- it is doing life
together
-- one body
-- working together -- with Christ as its head -- but, if one part does not
cooperate, the whole thing collapses -- when an individual does not participate
but merely takes, it destroys productive fellowship -- Paul's command is to keep
away from those who are not participating so they won't destroy the whole body
-- it's the idea of getting rid of the bad apple before it spoils the whole
barrel
-- Paul
commands the church here to withdraw from these people because they are just
sucking down resources without providing anything -- they are parasites in the
pew and they are hurting both the body of Christ and their witness to
unbelievers -- that's why the KJV uses the term "disorder" here in
place of idleness -- these people were a disease in the church
-- now
understand, Paul's command is harsh, but the purpose of withdrawal was to
discipline believer to bring them back into step with the church -- not
shunning, as Amish do, but to discipline them with the goal of correction and
restoration
-- verse
7-9
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our
example. We were not idle when we were with you,
8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the
contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be
a burden to any of you.
9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such
help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.
-- Paul points
out to them, "You know how to live as a Christian -- you know what the
body of Christ should look like -- we modeled that for you with our own lives
-- we laid it out for you in our teachings"
-- we were
not idle -- we didn't just take food and not pay back -- we shared in the labor
-- we worked and toiled to pay our way while we lived among you and while we
ministered in the community
-- even
though we had the right as apostles and ministers of grace, we put aside our
rights to demonstrate communal living to the church community
-- this is
your model -- this is what your community of faith should look like -- there
should be none idle among you -- there should be none who do not participate in
the community of faith
-- verse 10
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule:
"If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
-- Paul is
quoting a Jewish proverb here to make his point
-- he had
previously impressed this upon them when he was there the last time -- everyone
in the church was expected to work as they were able -- and everyone was
expected to share in the resources as they participated
-- he is
reiterating this again to them in this epistle as he addresses the issue of these
idle people in the church
-- notice the
term Paul uses in this proverb -- "if a man will not work" -- these were people capable of working, but
who were choosing not to work
--
provision was made in the community to provide to those who were incapable of
working and providing for themselves and others, but this was the exception -- the
principle here is those who can work, should work
-- the
problem with those people in the church who were not willing to work and help
in the community of faith is they were living in sin -- in trying to be more
spiritual than the others -- in claiming they were waiting for the coming of
Christ and could not work, they were being obstinate and disobedient to God's
call and their responsibilities in the community of faith
-- verse 11
11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy;
they are busybodies.
-- here
Paul employs a little wordplay to make a point -- these people were not busy but busybodies
-- Not
productive but sticking their nose in everyone else's business -- not busy with
their own business but meddling with the others who were working -- who were
trying to be productive members of the body of Christ -- the context seems to
imply that perhaps these nonworking believers were encouraging others to quit
working and wait for the Lord's return, too
-- a few
years ago, the launch of the space shuttle Discovery was delayed because of two
busybodies -- two woodpeckers had decided they wanted to poke holes in the fuel
tank, putting 195 holes in the tank, which increased the risk of ice forming in
the holes as the shuttle launched from earth and possibly causing a danger to
the crew
-- the
biologists at Canaveral solved the problem by putting up a scarecrow around the
repaired fuel tank -- but it's interesting to think that it only took a couple
of busybodies poking around where they shouldn't to damage a billion-dollar
project -- that's Paul's concern with the situation at Thessalonica -- these
busybodies were damaging the work of God3
-- verse 12
12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ
to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
-- here we
once again see Paul using the word "command" -- he's telling these
nonworking believers, "enough is enough" -- and he commands them to
settle down -- to work quietly -- to eat their own bread
-- in other
words stop being a parasite and start being productive -- provide for your own
needs and help meet the needs of others through your excess
-- now
remember who we're talking about here -- we're not talking about people who are
truly in need -- those who can't work or provide for themselves for whatever
reason -- there is a place for welfare in the church -- there is a place for
assistance to the widow and the orphan and the sick and the needy
-- these
people could work, they were just choosing not to -- the old adage is keep one
eye on heaven and the other on earth -- keep looking for Jesus but don't stop
ministering and working until He comes
-- verse
13-15
13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is
right.
14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter,
take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel
ashamed.
15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
-- don't
grow weary in doing good -- one reason to withdraw from the idle and the lazy
nonworkers in the church is to avoid the danger of getting weary, exhausted, and
worn out working for others while they don't do anything for themselves or anyone
else -- don't become discouraged, Paul says -- keep doing good to those who
need it -- but don't continue to provide to those who don't
-- Paul is
promoting church discipline in this entire section of scripture -- he tells the
church to withdraw from the idle -- he tells the idle to repent of their sin
and to start working again -- that is the principle of church discipline -- we
identify the sin in a person's life and call them to repent
-- but if
they don't, then we do what Paul tells us here in verse 14 -- we note that
person -- we single them out -- we point out their failure so others will not
follow their example of disobedience and unrepentance
-- there's
a tendency to avoid conflict in today's society -- we don't like conflict --
but we can't afford to do that with spiritual issues -- if left alone,
spiritual problems will not get better -- as Barney Fife says, "we've got
to nip it in the bud"
-- Paul
says do not keep company with them -- do not associate with them -- you cannot
walk in fellowship with someone who is out of fellowship -- remember, we're
talking about believers here -- people who should be walking in the light of
God's grace but who are choosing to sin
-- and once
that seed is planted, it can corrupt the entire church -- remember the second law
of thermodynamics -- energy tends towards entropy -- this is also true
spiritually -- idleness is contagious -- laziness and sinfulness is contagious
-- once
again, remember the purpose of withdrawing from these people -- it is so the
person might be ashamed of their actions -- as the church withdraws from these
people, the hope is they might be convicted of their sin, feel guilt and shame,
and repent of their sin and come back into fellowship -- remember, the goal is restoration
to fellowship, so Paul calls on the church to admonish -- warn -- and rebuke these
lazy Christians for their sin
IV. Closing
-- as a
wildlife biologist I can tell you one thing for sure -- laziness does not occur
in nature -- it can't occur in nature
-- every
morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up knowing that it can't be lazy -- it must get
up and run -- it must get up and outrun the fastest lion on the plain or it will
be eaten -- at the same time, every morning in Africa the lion wakes up and
knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve
-- Thus,
every morning when the gazelle and lion wake up they understand this one simple
truth – if you want to survive the day then you’d better hit the ground running
-- laziness is not an option4
-- unfortunately,
this is not true for us -- because of our technological advances, humans can
live in laziness -- physical and spiritual -- it is our natural bent -- and it
is something we have to fight to avoid
-- God's
plan was for us to work and to live productive and healthy lives, physically
and spiritually -- so how do we do this
-- I know
I'm out of time so let me just leave you with this short list of remedies for
laziness to ponder on your own as we close out this sermon4
-- first,
live for the eternal today -- don't neglect the spiritual side of life -- a lot
of us have the tendency to compartmentalize our lives and to not think about
God except on Sunday -- but that's not God's plan for our lives
-- in an
interview in Outreach Magazine Gabe Lyons pointed out that it was the church
that created all the things we love about our Western culture -- education --
medical systems -- hospitals -- art -- music -- all these beautiful things came
through the church incarnating Christ in this world and living out the Golden
Rule -- he says we have a stewardship responsibility in this world to make it a
better place and to call people to God's kingdom -- so live for the eternal
today -- love your neighbor as yourself5
-- the
second remedy for laziness: Thrive from the inside -- improve your attitude --
stop thinking of work as drudgery, but celebrate your role in God's creation
and in God's kingdom -- even doing simple chores at home is a way to show your
appreciation to God for the blessings He has given
-- third,
finish what you start -- avoid procrastination -- don't put off till tomorrow
what you can do today -- if you haven't looked at it in a while, read Aesop's
fable of the ant and the grasshopper -- prepare for the future by doing what
needs to be done today
-- fourth,
eliminate your excuses -- remember your responsibilities as part of God's
community -- share and share alike -- we work to stay young and active -- we
work to have resources to help others -- we work to share in God's work
-- don't come
up with reasons why you can't do something -- come up with reasons why God
wants you to do it
-- laziness
is a real problem in our society -- it's a sin I struggle with -- it's one I
suspect everyone in here struggles with from time to time
-- and
don't misunderstand -- I'm not saying we need to be working seven days a week,
24 hours a day -- we still need rest -- we still need down-time -- we still
need a Sabbath -- but we can't turn our Sabbath into a way of life -- we can't
turn our lives into permanent vacations
-- God has
called us to work for Him in this place until He returns -- and we need to do
so with all our heart and mind and soul and strength
-- let's
pray
1 "Toronto Man Breaks 'Couch Potato' World
Record," Associated Press (9-17-05); submitted by Bill White, Paramount, California
[PreachingToday.com]
2 Rapture Ready: Lazy People https://www.raptureready.com/rr-lazy.html
3 Modified
illustration from Rob Salvato -- http://media.calvaryvista.com/salvato-rob/studies-books/53-2TH-2005/53-2TH-003-006.htm
4 Modified from
Sermon titled "Laziness" by Joseph Rodgers, Sermon Central: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/laziness-joseph-rodgers-sermon-on-sin-general-84640.asp?page=0
5 Outreach Magazine, January/February 2014, Gabe Lyons: The
Culture and the Church]
No comments:
Post a Comment