Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Nijay Gupta

In early May of 2011, while I was teaching undergraduates, a noticeably distraught student approached me before class and asked me, “Should I be worried about the end of the world?” She was referring to the prediction by radio Bible teacher Harold Camping that the beginning of the a great turmoil on earth was set for May 11, 2011. It would last until October 21, 2011—in other words, the “Final Judgment.”

Camping was not the first to predict Doomsday in American history, but he may have been the richest, supported by over $100 million of donations from his followers. I remember reading reports of families selling their homes, quitting their jobs, and shedding their worldly belongings in preparation for the apocalypse. When May and October 2011 came and went without a noticeable cataclysm, an astonishing number of people were penniless, jobless, and disillusioned.

These kinds of doomsday crusaders who gave up on living to prepare for the next life may have been spared some heartache and loss if they had simply heeded Paul’s teaching from 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13. This passage does not explicitly mention the apocalypse, but most scholars believe 2 Thessalonians 2 (about future eschatological events) and chapter 3 (verses 6–13, about quietly attending to honest labor) are related.

Scholarly perspectives on 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13

A more traditional scholarly view is that a good number of believers in Thessalonica had become obsessed with the imminent end of the world (for one reason or another) and simply gave up on earthly activities in preparation for the end (not unlike Camping’s devotees). The reasoning goes like this: At the end of 1 Thessalonians, Paul had made a brief comment, “Admonish the idlers” (5:14a). He had caught wind of some who had become lazy (older commentaries used the language of “loafers”), and Paul offered a short exhortation to keep these people in line, hoping that would do the trick. Unfortunately, the problem got much worse, and part of the purpose of the second letter to the Thessalonians was to get these “idlers” back to work.

A second theory, though, emerged in the 1980s, which tried to explain the problem with these “idlers” apart from eschatological fervor. R. Russell published an article explaining 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13 in terms of a socioeconomic phenomenon in the Thessalonian church: Some low-status and poor believers were attaching themselves to well-to-do believers. This was relatively common in the Roman world as part of their patronage system. But Paul was insistent that each believer should do their own work and earn their keep (as able).

While the socioeconomic interpretation has its supporters, I am inclined toward a more eschatological theory, but with a twist. The language of “idlers” is the Greek word ataktos (and its cognates). Many scholars (including me) agree that it has often been mistranslated in 1 and 2 Thessalonians as “idlers” or “loafers.” The word more straightforwardly refers to unruliness or insubordination (see King James Version: “warn them that are unruly”). It is not so much that believers had given up on their work to do nothing; rather, they had given up on work to make trouble (2 Thessalonians 3:11).

My proposal is that, in response to murmurs and whispers about the imminent apocalypse, some believers in Thessalonica took it upon themselves to promote themselves to leadership positions and devise a plan to address doomsday turmoil. It is not that they were not busy at all, but rather that they had become “busybodies” (3:11). Paul wanted all the Thessalonian Christians to live day-by-day in faithfulness to the Lord and in good, honest work and to prove themselves productive members of society.

The best way to honor the Lord is not to drop all activity lazily and wait for the end, nor to rush around like busybodies. Rather, it is to do all things, including the work we are called to, in service and honor of the Lord and “to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thessalonians 4:11–12). Paul, who arguably had one of the most important “spiritual” jobs in the world as apostle to the Gentiles, modeled good and honest work himself, laboring with his hands so as not to be an unnecessary financial burden on anyone.

Tips for preaching 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13

#1: Promote honest work for those who are able. Paul repeats the saying “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (3:10). It is important to note that Paul does not make a blanket statement that those who do not work cannot eat. That is to say, his focus is on those who can but choose not to work, not on those who are ill or disabled and simply cannot work. Paul was not speaking into political conversations about disability or welfare in this text, and he was not critiquing stay-at-home parents.

#2: Point to the example of Paul and his apostolic partners. Paul had every right to earn his living directly from the churches that he ministered to, just as the Lord Jesus himself allowed (1 Corinthians 9:14). Many people, in Paul’s time and in ours, think that the goal of life is to have enough money and resources to retire early and live a life of leisure. That may be the American Dream (or the Roman Dream), but that is not the vision for the people of Jesus. Paul was proud of his work because it meant there was more money for others, especially others in need (2 Corinthians 8:8–15; see also Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 4:28).

#3: Teach believers how to live a “quiet life.” In both 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Paul emphasizes living a “quiet life” in relation to work (1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:12). By this, Paul does not mean vacationing by the beach or spending time contemplating life while camping in the woods or on a mountaintop. He means something like a “contented life.”

It’s probably easier to describe a “noisy” life than a “quiet” one in our culture. A noisy life is obsessed with upward mobility in culture. A noisy life clamors for attention in meetings or on social media. A noisy life wants to be noticed and to become the envy of coworkers, our community, or the public at large.

Alternatively, a quiet life focuses on pleasing the Lord and on good work with our minds and our bodies toward a good end in society. Paul probably imagined bakers exercising skill and diligence in their food production, teachers diligently learning and studying so they can offer sound instruction, and garment makers ensuring that their clothing not only is pleasing to the eye but will last.

Second Thessalonians 3:6–13 is one of the few Pauline texts that offers a theology of work and labor. This is extremely formative for helping everyday Christians process the majority of their day, most days of the week, which is paid work. Too many, I imagine, simply go about their day grinding out work, looking forward to some rest and relaxation in the evenings or on the weekends. There’s nothing wrong with that, as the Sabbath practice reminds us. But our view of work could be more theologically rich and satisfying if we understood how it is part of how God has made us as humans who work together in society to strengthen and benefit our community for the common good: “Brothers and sisters, do not weary in doing what is right” (2 Thessalonians 3:13).