CALLED TO SET A STANDARD FOR HARD WORK AND GODLINESS



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 . Being busy with work cures gossip and other social ills in the church and is the surest part to nation building and advancement. Hard-work is not a curse but an attribute of godliness.
       It is not a crime for preachers to be solely dependent on parishioners for provisions but the demerits of that position outweighed its merits in the long run. It is difficult to take a tough stand against acts of indiscipline if they are one's only source of financial support. This is why corruption  thrives in countries where preachers take pride in absorbing themselves away from gainful work. An example of this is seen in the administrative qualities between Peter and Paul, while Paul ministered with so much authority , apostle Peter: the general overseer of the church  ministered with bias towards 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 judgment between the rich and the poor. It is against this backdrop that preachers of the gospel are expected to be financially secure through gainful employment  and or 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 is not always in lack is a better witness and an example of a preacher of the gospel.  God does not want you to be a financial liability to anyone(1Thes.4:11-12) We are admonished to discourage any form of idleness by refusing to feed the lazy .The fear of hunger is a great motivation for work (1Thes 2:6-15, 1Thess.3:7-10) Idleness brings shame to the church, Proverbs 10:5 says "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 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, it becomes easy to receive ideas from the Holy Spirit that will lead to self employment  . As long as a job is legal 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 excuses leads to economic recession  (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 is already engaged in what we desire to trade in and this should be done long enough to acquire the discipline and requisite knowledge needed for one's startup and as we begin God has promised to prosper the works of our hands .
   Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me for my sins against you I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation, I receive him as lord and saviour and  receive grace for uncommon excellence in Jesus name.
Prayer /counciling : +2348098536911,+2348035536911 email :michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
Pics credit : pixabay 

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