A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away. . .are the words we read at the beginning of the original 1977 Star Wars movie. Last Sunday’s message made me remember a time in my life when I would spend hours laying on a couch during the weekend staring at the ceiling and doing. . .nothing, for hours! Needless to say, I was not a dad, I was not a husband and my main concern at that time of my life was resting from my three jobs. As I look at my life now, I definitely feel that happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away!
I bring this up because in 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul gives a stern warning to believers not to be idle. As I listened to that, I remembered this season in my life I just referred to and I was intrigued by this concept. Was I living the kind of life that Paul is warning us in this passage NOT to live? As I looked aimlessly to the white ceiling of my little apartment for hours, was I breaking yet another of God’s commandments? Is Paul telling faithful believers to stay away people to tend to be a couch potato as I was then?
The first thing we need to understand is the meaning in the original language of the word “idle.” The meaning on Greek tells us that this word is atatkos which, generally speaking, means disorderly, unruly or undisciplined. As you get into more detail, sources say “in the Greco-Roman world, order and discipline were highly valued, both in civic life and within the household. The early Christian communities, influenced by Jewish traditions and the teachings of Jesus, emphasized orderly conduct as a reflection of one’s faith and commitment to the community. Disorderly behavior was seen as something damaging to the witness of any community of faith.”
What I reckon is that these people were believers who were trying to take advantage of other believers and giving the excuse of the persecution so that they could justify their laziness. They had no structure, no goals, no will and so they had become a burden to the church. It is interesting that the book of Proverbs warns about being idle as well. Proverbs 18:9 says “A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things”. 19:15 is even harsher when it declares: “Lazy people sleep soundly, but idleness leaves them hungry”. I guess that is the tradition Paul was pointing to.
I believe the best example to illustrate the problem in being idle comes from a car. Think about a car that is idling: It is consuming resources (gasoline), it is annoying (makes noise and the fumes, particularly if it is a diesel, really bothers people) and it is going nowhere. Then, Paul is addressing people who are like that in the body of Christ: they are there, but they are a nuisance to other believers. As they got nothing to do, they become a burden to other people by taking advantage of their kindness, by causing problems and by complaining: their lives are going nowhere. Like water that, when it doesn’t run becomes stagnant and bacteria grows in it, their lives become stagnant.
So, don’t be idle, put your life on drive.
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