Busy Works: a commentary on II Thessalonians 3

Occasionally, we see some not-so-common verses start to go viral based on current events. Recently, as debates about welfare and SNAP benefits cycle out of Washington and around social media, the verse that has resurfaced is II Thessalonians 3:10, and it is being weaponized by many to justify the starvation of the poor. Not only is Paul not justifying that anyone should starve, but the actual message Paul delivers is much more about the attitude of those against the poor than those in need of food.

THE VERSE IN QUESTION

The main verse out of this section that is causing the controversy is verse 10: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” This is being used at the moment to say that those not employed, sometimes even those unable to be employed, should not receive any help from anyone. One commenter to us recently even went so far as to say that it was Satanic to feed the poor. But this is not the message of Paul here in Thessalonians, and when we see the full passage, it becomes clear.

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks irresponsibly and not according to the tradition received from us. For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you; we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us. In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” For we hear that there are some among you who walk irresponsibly, not working at all, but interfering with the work of others. Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ that quietly working, they may eat their own food. Brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

II THESSALONIANS 3:6-13

CONTEXT

First of all, we need to look at the context of who it is that Paul is writing to here. The church of Thessaloniki, which Paul planted on his first missionary journey, and he had already sent them one letter before this. In that first letter, Paul encouraged them to stay strong as persecution came. To hold fast to the coming of Christ in the midst of chaos, and to hold fast to the work of the Spirit and the gathering of the saints. Unfortunately, it seems that some may have taken this too far, and now Paul has been writing to address some confusion that has arisen around Christ’s return. Because there were now reports that many in the community, waiting for the imminent return of Christ, had given up working and were instead causing strife within the community. This leads us to the section in question, and the response from Paul is very deliberate. 

NOT ABOUT THE POOR, BUT ABOUT THE BUSYBODIES INSIDE THE CHURCH

This passage is not about the poor, and especially not the poor outside of the church. Paul makes it super simple and clear here in this passage; those who needed to be refused assistance were those within the body who chose to be περιεργαζομένους. Often translated in English to busybody, periergazomai means someone who unnecessarily intrudes on others to prevent work from happening, and particularly someone who meddles in others' lives intrusively. THIS person is who Paul is unhappy with, not the poor among them. 

This verse, being thrown around to justify the removal of food or other assistance from those who are hungry, has nothing to do with the poor and hungry. Instead, it looks at the attitudes of those who intrude into the lives of others, those who attempt to disrupt the work of the church, those who refuse to be a part of the community, and those who are so focused on the Spiritual world to come that they ignore the physical world around them. 

The irony, with this verse being used in the way that is currently, is that those trying to justify the suffering of others, by deciding for themselves if someone is worthy of assistance or not, by deciding who is their neighbor and who is not, and even those declaring those looking to help others are not believers, are the ones that Paul actually is addressing in this passage. To weaponize II Thessalonians 3:10 against the poor and hungry is to violate the command Paul gives in verses 6-13.

WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THIS

So what should we do about this? Paul actually gives us the answer if we move forward a few more verses to II Thessalonians 3:14-15. 

“And if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note of that person; don’t associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. Yet don’t treat him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” 

ASSOCIATION

The first thing Paul says is to take note and not to associate with them. This is a practical step, because the issue at hand is that this member of the community does not want to be a member of the community, but instead burdens the community and prevents the work. This is not the same idea as excommunication, but instead a practical move by the Church to be able to continue to do the good works they are commanded to do. This is, however, supposed to cause a similar response as excommunication, in that the disconnect from the body should cause the member to repent and return to the body as an equal member and no longer as a burden. 

SHAME

It’s interesting that Paul uses this term here, because one of the things I have begun to notice from many of the believers who are arguing for not assisting the poor is that most of these people do not understand what the poor experience, and what keeps them from understanding is their own insecurities, and yes, shame. The reason why verses like II Thessalonians 3:10 or Deuteronomy 28 are weaponized, the reason why even with statistics available or experiences shared, don't deter the stereotypes and demonizations, and the reason why Christians look for a Scriptural backing for all of this behavior, is because it is attached to their own fears and insecurities. Attempting to understand the needs of those around them requires vulnerability, and when we choose to be vulnerable, we no longer have the ability to look at ourselves in a higher or more comfortable light. We demonize the poor in order that in rescuing them from poverty, we become heroes. 

ENEMY OR BROTHER

This is also why Paul has to remind us about how we treat those who are the busybodies. Because before we begin to think that those who do these things are below us and less holy, the call here is to remember they are our brothers, not our enemies. This is an important piece because if we immediately dismiss them, then there is nothing to return to. We are to treat them as our brothers, because cutting them off from the community is repaying evil for evil. They have desired to cut others out of the community with their words and actions, so why should we then do the same in response? To cut them out completely erases the very community that they are supposed to crave. 

II THESSALONIANS 3

Ultimately, this section of Scripture being weaponized is not only not applicable to the situation it is in, but it is actually a condemnation of those who do it. And it should not be a surprise that a passage of Scripture would not condemn the care of the poor or marginalized. Because the gospel itself compels this, and so does Paul here in this passage, when he reminds the Thessalonian Church, “do not grow weary in doing good.” If we are to take any part of this passage and apply it forward onto how we should be responding to the rising cultural tendency to demonize the poor, hungry, marginalized people in our midst, this should be the call.

“Do not grow weary in doing good!”

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This post was written by Andrew Fouts. The founder and main content creator for Ministry Misfits. He is also one of the writers, as well as one of the directors and writers for KFM Broadcasting Network.

This post was edited by Joseph Dea. Joe is a writer for his own blog at https://kfmbroadcasting.wixstudio.com/buddywalkwithjesus and is one of the directors and writers for KFM Broadcasting.

This blog is being crossposted to our network blog at www.kfmbroadcasting.com/blog. If you have found this or other Misfits Resources helpful, check out the network of resources available through KFM!