Be Still And Know

2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 There were people in the church in Thessalonica who thought of themselves as being so spiritual that they should spend their days waiting for the return of Jesus and not going to work. Paul couldn’t have been clearer in his response to them. They had missed the point. The fact that they didn’t work meant they had become a burden on the other believers. And, worse than that, instead of being busy workers they had become busy bodies. They spent their time interfering in other people’s lives and causing grief. As CH Spurgeon, the Victorian preacher, said: “Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.” Paul responded to these lazy people by pointing to his own example. He worked hard day and night in order not to be a burden to others. He was convinced that everyone should work hard, and never grow tired of doing good. The problem that Paul faced in Thessalonica isn’t one that I have ever encountered, but his teaching does help us to reflect on