expectations and standards
Crystal and I aren’t really into reality shows, but one that
we did enjoy was America’s Best Dance Crew. Our favorite group was called “Quest Crew”. Through their dance they would often tell a
story. They would show an amazing physical ability as they flipped through the
air. They worked together amazingly. … But, if any one of the members didn’t do
their part it wouldn’t work. The story wouldn’t be told, and watching it would
become awkward. All the attention would be on the person who let the group down.
In our reading from 2 Thessalonians Paul is describing members
who are letting the group down. The church is like a dance. There are many
parts to play and it works best when all the parts are played well.
Paul is
warning the Thessalonian church about those who are “living in idleness”. The
word in the original Greek has a couple meanings. It could refer to a person
who is slacking off, but it can also refer to someone who is disorderly. Those meanings
bleed into each other. If someone is refusing to play their part they are
slacking off on their duties and causing disorder because the group isn’t able
to function well if everyone isn’t doing their part. The whole dance is disturbed
if one of the dancers isn’t dancing well.
The early church functioned very much like a Mediterranean
family. It was a large household and everyone was expected to contribute to the
life of the family. It seems like in the
Thessalonian church had a few members that were taking advantage of the
generosity of the community. These are not people who are unable to contribute
because of age or illness. Paul is speaking about people who are able, but
unwilling. They were happy to take, but
not to contribute. On top of that they seem to have been busybodies- spreading
gossip and poking their nose into other people’s business. Paul states that he
and his companions set an example for them by working hard and not expecting
anyone to support them, even though it was their right to expect to be
supported. Paul and his companions went beyond the expectations in order to set
an example for them.
The effect of these idle people is that they breed disorder
in the church. The bar becomes lowered. If someone is slacking and causing
disorder then what they are doing it might spread through the community. Others
might see that as the example to follow and the community is weakened. Others
learn not to take their duties seriously. The community is then weakened.
No doubt many of us have been confronted by people who are
happy to take advantage of us. We are especially vulnerable as Christians
because we are supposed to be nice, and generous, and that can make us easy
marks for those who are looking to take advantage of us. I have been conned numerous
times. Some of them have fantastic stories. Paul’s words mean that we are
allowed to be wise when dealing with people. We are allowed to have boundaries and defend against manipulation.
Paul is not trying to be cruel in telling the Thessalonians
to keep away from those who are idle and causing disorder. Paul is trying to
protect the Thessalonians by protecting the community. In the end, keeping away
from the troublemakers might actually help the troublemakers to realize what they are doing.
Paul says that anyone who is unwilling to work should not eat. In the early
church it was very common to have a common purse to care for the needy. No
doubt some just saw an easy meal. Paul says that those who can work, but don’t
shouldn’t be allowed to draw from the common purse. In reality they are
stealing from those who truly need it. They are causing a disturbance in the
community by setting a bad example. Really they are putting the health of their
own souls at stake.
What Paul is talking about is church discipline. It means
that there is a certain standard that we agree upon. It means that there are expectations
to being a part of a community. There are expectations about how we treat each other
and expectations about how we will function in the world.
Church discipline has become a very nasty concept in our
minds. We think of heresy trials and shunning and other kinds of mistreatment
and cruelty. The opposite extreme is also unacceptable though. The opposite
means there are no expectations for the Christian community. No expectations about how we treat each other,
or how we act in the world. That may lead to a church full of disorder. It
leads to a church full of hypocrisy where we claim to follow Christ, but our
actions and lives don’t show it.
While Paul’s words might seem harsh, he
is trying to protect the community from those who would harm it. Here we have to be careful to not always be pointing our fingers at people in the church. We also need to be self-aware and in humility we should on occasion question our own effort in the community. How
much to we receive and how much to we contribute. In what ways are we
contributing to Christ’s work in the world?
If I remember my moral philosophy class accurately the
philosopher Immanuel Kant said that one way to decide if an action is ethical
is to contemplate what the world would be like if everyone behaved the way you
do in a particular situation. I think we
can apply this thinking to the situation in Thessalonica. What if these
slackers were the norm in the church? What would happen to the church? What if
everyone was drawing on the church’s resources but not contributing to the
church. What would happen to the church? What would happen to the slackers? The
result is that if the church was feeding them that they would go hungry. Paul
is helping them to feel the consequences of their actions. Paul is trying to
help them to see that they are taking unfair advantage.
Obviously Paul thinks it is very important to protect this
community. So what is this community that he is protecting? This community is
not a club or a hobby for those involved. This community is the body of Christ.
It is the hope that there can be a new way of being human.
Once in a while I meet people who say something like “I don’t
need to go to church because I meet God in nature when I go for a walk”. I
think that is true. I often feel God’s presence in nature as well, but church
isn’t just about where I “feel God”. Church is also the place where I learn to
be a new kind of human being. It is where we gather as a variety of different
kinds of people who would otherwise not really be with each other and we learn
to be a family. I need church because I need to learn to be patient and there
are all kinds of opportunities to learn that in the church. I need church
because I need to know what it is like to be deeply loved and it is amazing to
experience people loving you like you are family. I need the church because I need
to be made aware of ways that I need to grow. In church I learn to not always
have things my way because the point of church is not me. The point of the
church is God, and the family God has created to be a part of his mission in
the world.
It is by being a part of the church that I learn to be the
kind of person God is hoping I will become. … What Paul is concerned about is
that the community could get watered down by people who just want to greedily
consume the church’s resources but not offer anything back. This sows all kinds
of destructive seeds into the community. This community is too important to
allow it to be destroyed by a few selfish members.
So what can we do? First, we need to honestly examine our
contribution to God’s kingdom. The church is part of that, but it extends
beyond the church. Some are called to worship and are called to offer themselves
in service to God outside these walls, and that is the way it should be. But,
it is important that we look realistically at how we offer ourselves according
to our ability and the call God has placed on our hearts. Second, we may be
called to encourage people we are close to who may be stuck in a consumerist
mode of being a part of the church. We all need reminding that we are here to
love and serve God not to have our wants fulfilled.
The church has always struggled to be self disciplined. It
has always struggled to call itself to a higher standard, but we can be certain
that God is using it- using us- to help create that new humanity that looks
like Jesus. That means the struggle is worth it.
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