What Motivates Me To Work?

The Biblical Understanding Of Work.

     In the Book II Thessalonians 3:6-15, Apostle Paul has commanded the leaders of the church in Thessalonians to motivate the believers to work by their hands and not to become idle or just busy bodies accomplishing nothing.  Apostle Paul knew that after the twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus were filled by the Holy Spirit, their preaching, teaching, healing and other ministries have resulted to continuous growth in numbers of new followers of Christ as written in the book of Acts 2 and following.  The believers were added daily and they chose leaders from within to handle the feeding and helping of these people.  The preaching and regular teaching of the disciples about repentance for the Kingdom of God is at hand was misunderstood by many.  Many of them wanted to stay in the fellowship and had forgot the reality that they have their families that need their financial support.  This issue was first experienced in the church of Jerusalem and dealt with love through teaching of the word of God that they need to work to support their families and not just to depend to the church for their daily sustenance.  The disciples knew that the church should continue their feeding and helping ministries for the widow, the orphans and the less privilege people and those who are able should work hard.  The same issue was faced by Apostle Paul in different churches that he started and dealt with during his missionary works in different parts of Asia Minor and other parts of the world.

How Paul Corrected This Issue?

     First,  Paul has commanded the believers in the Thessalonian church to work in the name of Jesus.  Why he used the name of Jesus?  Paul knew that Jesus himself learned how to work with his father Joseph as an assistant carpenter and when he learned the work from his father, he worked with less supervision from him before he reached his 30th years old and left this to enter his public ministries of preaching, teaching and healing in Jerusalem and different parts of Judea, Samaria, and of Israel.

     Second, Apostle Paul shared to them that he worked too and let himself and other followers of Christ  as example of this teaching about the importance of work.  Though they have the right for the financial support from the churches they started and taking care of, they didn't use this right but rather they worked hard day and night for the sake of the gospel and that they will not become an additional burden for the church Thessalonians 3:7-9.

     Third,  Paul has taught the believers the importance and integrity of work.  "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."  To work is legal, acceptable, and have to do it for it is an honorable act.  If this is not so, Jesus was just used his power to turn the stone into bread and commanded the birds and say to the fish in the sea and animals in the forest and mountains to come to their house.  But rather, he exerted his physical body to work hard in order to eat.  Even Paul in his letters to the churches and particularly to the church of Thessalonians the importance and integrity of  work.  For him, if you want to eat, you have to work.  He became a tent maker  and did different kinds of hard works  just to support his preaching and teaching ministries.  He never mentioned here that the kinds of work that are acceptable and honorable are the works inside the palace and temple but all kinds of works in the sea, farm and others which are legal,moral and honorable as the only sure source of food for the family and others.

     Lastly,  we should not waste our privilege to work for we were given already the clear instructions from the lives of Jesus, Paul and the leaders of the early churches that to work is an honorable act and an act of serving others as to the Lord.  It doesn't mean that the works inside the church or church related acts are the only acceptable to God.  All kinds of works that are legal, moral and honorable are acceptable to God and therefore we have to do these with all our might.  God gave us the mind and complete parts of our body to function effectively and to use it to produce food, medicines, improve our technology and services for our family, others and the world for the glory of God  Colossians  3:17 . 

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