2 Thess 3

Again another hard chapter to read.  Simply because I am not getting the insights I am used to when I read the Bible.  It shows just how soul weary I must be.  Prayer and faith will help.

Chapter 3 opens with the request to pray for each other.  There is a lot here that is said in just a few words.  Imagine yourself on a praire with the wild wind shoving you about.  Now snaking through the grass you see a wild fire gaining speed with each strong gust.  That fire on praire's are deadly is true, mostly because they can spread so fast.  The first part of the request for prayer is the wish for God's Word to spread swiftly.  That reminds me of a praire fire.

It goes on to warn that not everyone has faith.  Those people are unreasonable.  That actually scares me.  I pride myself on logic and reason, but if one is guided by their emotions instead of what makes sense then they are hard to deal with.  You can't protect yourself from them.  However, God has you covered.  He says He has your back and that you can always trust Him to take care of you.  So we should focus less on the harm others can cause and have caused, and focus instead on loving God and having patience.

In my Andrews study Bible there is a note for 3:6.  It is a strong order to stay away from those who cause disorder, those who go against the advice of that was given them by Paul.  Two things.  The first is that evidently there has been discord in this church by some members, and that they have not come to peace.  The second is where the note comes from.  This has been told them before in a milder tone... yet this book has to tell them again and in stronger language.  Evidently despite being devout, there are issues in this church in keeping the peace.

Part of the discord seems to lay in this problem.  People claiming to work for God asking for free hand outs and for free help and supplies.  Paul says very clearly that such people who cause themselves to be a burden when they are capable of getting a job are not to be tolerated.  They become basically bossy and rude under the disguise of pious intent.  They should instead work and work quietly, and earn their own way.

If those who had been doing this don't listen to this advice, note who they are and quietly leave them alone.  These people are not enemies, but they need to experience the shame of basically freeloading on whoever they could.  Talk to them if they will listen and try to bring them back around.

This was a strong chapter.  It wasn't saying don't help others or don't accept help.  It was saying, if you are able to do manual labor... go get a job.  It doesn't matter if you are a leader in the church or a missionary or just a church member.  Get a job instead of asking others to give you everything you need.  I like how Paul points out that he himself had done this himself as an example of how to live your life... and he was always traveling.

That ends this book.  It was rather short.  Will start the next one next time.