2 Thessalonians 3:12

Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

The apostle has fully characterized the members of the Christian congregations as they should be. That he was not offering his own personal suggestions and opinions appears from the crisp sentence which he here inserts: But we charge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the instruction which you received from us. It is a serious matter which Paul has broached and one which his tone brings out very sharply. The name, the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself demand this form of procedure. If there is any brother, any person that has joined the congregation and wishes to be considered a member, but nevertheless conducts himself without any regard to the order established by the will of the Lord, ignoring the plain rules of conduct which the instruction of Paul had conveyed to them all, then the faithful members should withdraw from him, they should signify to him that fellowship with him must cease unless he returns to his senses and signifies his intention of observing the rules of life which obtain in the Christian Church by the will of God. Church discipline, as prescribed in Matthew 18:1, must be applied in all cases of deliberate disorderly conduct, of willful disregard of the plainly expressed will of God, especially in cases of flagrant sins and vices, 1 Corinthians 5:11. In this case the apostle had in mind chiefly the refusal to work, to perform the labor demanded by every man's temporal calling, as the context shows.

This thought is brought out by the apostle's reference to his own example: For yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, for we did not walk disorderly among you, nor did we eat bread with any one for nothing, but in toil and misery, working night and day, that we might not be burdensome to any of you; not that we did not have the power, but that we might present ourselves a pattern to you to imitate us. Paul's manner of life and conduct in the midst of the Thessalonians was a matter of common knowledge; he had hidden nothing from them, he had not loafed nor conducted himself disorderly in any manner. He had not sought free meals, he had not depended upon them for his subsistence. It was the special boast of St. Paul, for which he adduces a reason also in this instance, that he wanted to make his way, earn his own living, while preaching the Gospel in any city. He had therefore probably, in Thessalonica as he had done in other cities, practiced his trade as tent-maker, working at such times as he could not reach the people with preaching. It was a hard life, as he himself says, one full of hard toil and misery, a life which kept him busy practically night and day. But his object was attained, he was not a burden to a single member of the congregation. But here the apostle is careful to meet a probable misunderstanding which might harm the work of other teachers that could not possibly follow his method of double work. He did all this, not because he would not have had authority and power to demand the means of subsistence, a decent livelihood, from them, but because he felt that their circumstances required just such an example and pattern as he was setting them. He could and did frankly and unhesitatingly ask the Thessalonians to imitate him in this respect. His conduct could serve as a lesson to them, which they would do well to heed; he wanted to train them by his own example. See 1 Corinthians 9:7.

This feature of the Thessalonian character had struck the attention of the apostle even when he was laboring in their midst: For even when we were with you, this charge we gave to you, that if any one does not want to work, neither shall he eat. For we hear of some of you walking disorderly, in no way busy with work, but busybodies. But to such we give the charge and exhort them in the Lord Jesus Christ that, working with quietness, they should eat their own bread. God wants no idleness, He commands every man to eat his bread in the sweat of his face, Genesis 3:19. A man that is persistently idle, that refuses to work, should therefore also be excluded from the legitimate fruit of labor, the food necessary to sustain the body. In addition to this general principle, however, which the apostle had taught during his stay among them, the present situation, from the reports which reached him, made it necessary to repeat his charge with emphasis. The life of the idler, of the loafer, is disorderly. And let no man come with the feeble rejoinder that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy; for at the present time the underproduction of the necessities of life is largely due to the steadily diminishing number of working-hours, a number altogether out of proportion to the hours devoted to relaxation and recuperation. There is today, as it was in Thessalonica, too much idleness, and the devil finds work for idle hands to do. A little more thought for the welfare of the country as a whole and a little less thought of supposed personal convenience is very necessary at this time. Instead of being busily engaged in the work of their calling and devoting the energy of their thoughts to producing the best that is in them, too many people are busybodies, officious meddlers, fussy interferers. The charge of St. Paul therefore rings out today with the same force which characterized his earnestness in the first century. He is still charging and exhorting all men, especially all believers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to attend to their work with all quietness and earn their maintenance honestly. Faithful and diligent labor, under the blessing of God, will always bring the necessities of life. Note: In our days also busybodies, impertinent meddlers with other people's business, newsmongers and telltales, are an abominable race, "the curse of every neighborhood where they live, and a pest to religious society. " The words of the apostle with regard to such may well be transcribed by stating that every person should keep two points in mind so far as temporal affairs are concerned: first, to mind his own business; secondly, not to interfere with that of the other person.