… ⁹not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

Paul had just asserted that he did not “eat anyone’s bread without paying for it . . .” As he does here, he had made it perfectly clear to the Corinthians that he had a right to be financially supported in his ministry (1 Cor. 9:4–14). But he voluntarily relinquished that right for the sake of removing any hindrance to the message of the gospel. With the Thessalonians, this approach to supporting himself also avoided the potential charge of callousness or hypocrisy in calling out those who were “not willing to work.”

There is a basic rule of life to which Paul appeals as fundamental. Every person must be a contributor and not just a taker. We were not created to be loafers living off of other people’s efforts. Being “in ministry” is no excuse for not working hard. Paul wrote in his earlier letter, “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thess. 2:9). This undercuts the sloppy mindset that thinks, “If only I could be in full-time ministry and not work a secular job, then I could really do something significant for the Lord.”

The Puritan work ethic teaches that our labor is our vocation, not simply a job to make money. Adam and Eve were to work the garden as God’s image bearers; this was delegated to them as His representatives. So also we, being His image bearers, are to work as delegated by God. My job making widgets enables me to be a contributing member of society. I make widgets for others.

Loafers are those able-bodied individuals who can work but instead presume upon the gracious sharing of others that spontaneously arises among new believers. Some quickly learn how to play on Christians’ emotions! Paul’s way of dealing with a lazy believer is to withhold charitable food handouts. No charity! If Paul would have lived off the offerings and gifts of others, he would not have given believers a model to follow. He made a considerable sacrifice in not taking financial help from the new believers—so that he could preach freely.

The application is clear: Christians who are able should work to pull their own weight and to share with others. To be sure, Paul at times accepted financial gifts from some sources (see Phil. 4:14–18), but he never saw this as pay for preaching, nor as an entitlement. He was a model of hard work, par excellence. Work is the standard means God uses to meet our sustenance needs.

Lord, help me to be a hard-working Christian who pulls my own weight.