GOD'S WORKMAN
Rev Michael Benson Ajayi
2Thess 3:7 -10"For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat".
The word 'work ' is the Greek word 'ergazomai' which means to toil (as a task, occupation, etc.), effect, be engaged in ,commit, do, labour for, minister about, trade , work. The cure to gossip and other social maladies in the church is the engagement of both clergy and laity in some kind of occupation that contributes meaningfully to society. It isn't a crime for a preacher to be dependent on the largesse of parishioners but the demerits of that position sure outweighed its merits in the long run.
It is difficult to take a tough stand against parishioners who are living in error if they are one's only source of financial support. This is why corruption seem to thrive in countries where preachers take pride in absorbing themselves away from work. An example of this is seen in the administrative qualities between Peter and Paul, while Paul ministered with so much authority , apostle Peter who was the general overseer of the church ministered with bias to the church in Jerusalem which was his financial base , he was economical with truth before them(Gal.2:11-13) Peter was hypocritical in his approach to judging between the haves and have not. It is against this backdrop that preachers of the gospel are expected to be financially secure through gainful employment ,business so as to make meaningful and unbiased contributions to the society.
In the beginning, God gave man a job before giving him a family (Gen.2:15)and He commands us to earn a living through gainful employment or a business (2Thes.3:12).God is glorified through our jobs and businesses and it promotes the spread of the gospel (1cor.10:31,Col3:17) .Christians are commanded to work in order to help the less privileged and contribute to missionary work (Ephesians 4:28) a faithful worker who isn't always in lack is a better witness and an example of a preacher of the gospel. God doesn't want us being a financial liability to anyone(1Thes.4:11-12) We are admonished to fight against idleness to the point of refusing to feed the idle. Hunger helps in overcoming idleness (1Thes 2:6-15, 1Thess.3:7-10) Idleness brings shame to the church of christ and the idle is prone to criminality , the scriptures says in Proverbs 10:5 "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame."
We have been given talents and expected to discover ,develop them and use them to serve the lord (Matt. 25:14-30) refusing to work to provide for one's family is tantamount to denying one's faith in Christ (1Tim.5:8) therefore everything should be done to be gainfully employed :this can be achieved through a willingness to learn to work so that we may provide for our daily necessities and be more productive.
No excuse is good enough to be unemployed and once we overcome pride which is the main reason for the unemployment of many, it becomes easy to receive ideas from the Holy Spirit that'll lead to self employment . As long as a job is legit and pays the bills we should be grateful to God for it. Pride and laziness go hand -in- hand and the proud and lazy are synonymous with unending excuses (prov.26:13-16) and as long as these excuses persists such persons will keep struggling with lack and become a burden to their families and communities (Prov 19:15) the way of the lazy is hard (Prov.15:19) . The lazy loves sleeping and this leads to poverty ( Prov.20:13) and the cure for laziness is regular prayer and fasting then a concerted effort should be made to work under a person who's already engaged in what we'll love to trade in long enough to acquire the discipline and requisite knowledge needed to kickstart ours. God has already blessed the works of our hands.
As you read this now receive wisdom and grace to breakthrough the barriers of poverty in Jesus name.
2Thess 3:7 -10"For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat".
The word 'work ' is the Greek word 'ergazomai' which means to toil (as a task, occupation, etc.), effect, be engaged in ,commit, do, labour for, minister about, trade , work. The cure to gossip and other social maladies in the church is the engagement of both clergy and laity in some kind of occupation that contributes meaningfully to society. It isn't a crime for a preacher to be dependent on the largesse of parishioners but the demerits of that position sure outweighed its merits in the long run.
It is difficult to take a tough stand against parishioners who are living in error if they are one's only source of financial support. This is why corruption seem to thrive in countries where preachers take pride in absorbing themselves away from work. An example of this is seen in the administrative qualities between Peter and Paul, while Paul ministered with so much authority , apostle Peter who was the general overseer of the church ministered with bias to the church in Jerusalem which was his financial base , he was economical with truth before them(Gal.2:11-13) Peter was hypocritical in his approach to judging between the haves and have not. It is against this backdrop that preachers of the gospel are expected to be financially secure through gainful employment ,business so as to make meaningful and unbiased contributions to the society.
In the beginning, God gave man a job before giving him a family (Gen.2:15)and He commands us to earn a living through gainful employment or a business (2Thes.3:12).God is glorified through our jobs and businesses and it promotes the spread of the gospel (1cor.10:31,Col3:17) .Christians are commanded to work in order to help the less privileged and contribute to missionary work (Ephesians 4:28) a faithful worker who isn't always in lack is a better witness and an example of a preacher of the gospel. God doesn't want us being a financial liability to anyone(1Thes.4:11-12) We are admonished to fight against idleness to the point of refusing to feed the idle. Hunger helps in overcoming idleness (1Thes 2:6-15, 1Thess.3:7-10) Idleness brings shame to the church of christ and the idle is prone to criminality , the scriptures says in Proverbs 10:5 "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame."
We have been given talents and expected to discover ,develop them and use them to serve the lord (Matt. 25:14-30) refusing to work to provide for one's family is tantamount to denying one's faith in Christ (1Tim.5:8) therefore everything should be done to be gainfully employed :this can be achieved through a willingness to learn to work so that we may provide for our daily necessities and be more productive.
No excuse is good enough to be unemployed and once we overcome pride which is the main reason for the unemployment of many, it becomes easy to receive ideas from the Holy Spirit that'll lead to self employment . As long as a job is legit and pays the bills we should be grateful to God for it. Pride and laziness go hand -in- hand and the proud and lazy are synonymous with unending excuses (prov.26:13-16) and as long as these excuses persists such persons will keep struggling with lack and become a burden to their families and communities (Prov 19:15) the way of the lazy is hard (Prov.15:19) . The lazy loves sleeping and this leads to poverty ( Prov.20:13) and the cure for laziness is regular prayer and fasting then a concerted effort should be made to work under a person who's already engaged in what we'll love to trade in long enough to acquire the discipline and requisite knowledge needed to kickstart ours. God has already blessed the works of our hands.
As you read this now receive wisdom and grace to breakthrough the barriers of poverty in Jesus name.
Amen
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