Love Matters

Many Christians compartmentalize their faith. With their Christianity neatly tucked away in their back pocket, backpack, or purse, they head off to work, school, or their daily activities. While they may see their 98Christianity as a part of their lives, they fail to acknowledge it as the heart of their lives. Unfortunately, many Christians never see the direct link between their faith and their daily activities. Their thinking may go something like this: employment is for working, school is for learning, leisure is for playing, and church is for Sunday. By viewing life in this way they miss the whole point of their faith. As Paul put it, Jesus is not a part of your life; Jesus is your life (Col 3:4). By acknowledging this truth, you will no longer see Jesus as a part of your workday—you will see Him as the One who sets the agenda for how you work. You will no longer see Him as a part of your school day—you will see Him as the One who sets the agenda for how you study. You will no longer see Him as a part of your daily schedule—you will see Him as the One who sets the agenda for how you schedule your days.

The Thessalonians loved those inside the church, but they also needed to love those outside the church. One of the simplest ways in which they could demonstrate their love and respect for others was by working diligently at their jobs. We would do well to remember that how we work at our jobs says much about how we view our faith (Col 3:23-24). That Paul saw the need to address the irresponsible behavior of some of the Thessalonians clearly indicates that their poor testimony was adversely affecting the ministry of the church and the integrity of the gospel (4:11-12). Bruce makes this point well:

To understand what prompted Paul to address this situation, we need to understand some important background information. During his initial visit to Thessalonica, Paul gave the people specific details about the Lord's return (5:2; 2 Thess 2:5). In light of his instruction, the church was eagerly anticipating the day when Jesus would return for His church (1:10). Convinced that Christ's return was imminent, some in the fellowship had apparently decided to quit their jobs. For them, working was pointless since any material possessions or wealth would be left behind. Their idleness was creating tension within the church and reflecting a poor testimony outside the church (2 Thess 3:6-13). With too much time on their hands, these misguided and irresponsible 99busybodies were intruding into everyone's affairs. Further, because they no longer had any income, they were forced to sponge off of others to meet their basic necessities (2 Thess 3:10-11). We can see very clearly how these lazy, inconsiderate believers would be a drain on their friends, former employers, and fellow church members.

Paul most likely had these irresponsible believers in mind when he wrote this portion of the letter. If so, he was sternly reminding the church that how they live and work reflects on the faith they profess. The promise of the Lord's return should have motivated the Thessalonians to work faithfully. Instead, many of these misguided believers were viewing their jobs apathetically. Knowing that when Jesus comes we will give an account for how we lived should provide sufficient incentive for us to pursue any task with passion and excellence (2 Cor 5:10).

Commentators are divided in how they interpret Paul's admonition to "seek to lead a quiet life" (4:11a). Some see this as a direct injunction against the irresponsible Thessalonians who were unnecessarily burdening others. Others believe Paul is encouraging the whole community of believers to live restful, quiet lives free from anger, conflict, or hostility. While either view would fit the context well, Paul appears to be addressing the entire fellowship. The Greek word translated "seek to lead" means to "strive after" or "be zealous for" and conveys the idea of ambition. The word translated "quiet" refers more to a state of being than to an absence of words. It appears likely that in light of their expectation of Christ's return, Paul exhorts them to strive to live faithfully, quietly, and restfully.

In this generation, ambition is rarely directed at restfulness. Most often it is directed toward the relentless pursuit of some goal, achievement, or status. Yet God's view of ambition is so different. Christians must make it their ambition to live in such a way that they project a "quiet" confidence in the God they serve. Christians live such a drastically different life from that of the rest of the world. Paul reminds his readers of this as he brings Christianity down to workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods. Just as God wills for us to be sexually pure (4:3), He also desires for us to live for Christ in such a way that our love for Him and our quiet confidence in Him will be a witness to the world around us (4:12).

While Paul's admonition may have been clear, some of the Thessalonians had clearly not taken it to heart. Quitting jobs and taking 100advantage of others was not how God expected them to live. An eager anticipation for the return of Christ was admirable, but failing to live faithfully until He returned was not. Such a lifestyle did not take seriously their calling to "walk properly in the presence of outsiders" (4:12). The Thessalonians needed a firm reminder that the gospel is only as believable as the changed lives of those who proclaim it. Paul was attempting to bring their Christianity back to earth where it belonged.

When this powerful truth comes to bear on our lives, it has serious implications. Instead of taking advantage of others, we will choose to trust God to supply our needs. Instead of cutting corners at work, we will do our work diligently as unto the Lord. Instead of fretting about every little thing, we will choose to present our requests to God. If Christianity means something in your church, then it will also mean something in your world. We therefore make it our ambition to do our work quietly and faithfully. Little things will not bother us because we understand the big picture (Matt 6:31-33). We show love to a watching world by displaying a quiet confidence in God. We don't quit our jobs and withdraw from the world. We don't take advantage of others. Instead, we confidently take our faith on vacation, to work, and to school. We aspire to "lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity" (1 Tim 2:2).

The natural result of leading a quiet life is "to mind your own business" (4:11b). A person who minds his own business has little time to meddle in the affairs of others (2 Thess 3:11-12). Paul clearly has in mind those who had quit their jobs in anticipation of Christ's return. With too much time on their hands they were needlessly interjecting themselves into the business of others. Nothing is more disruptive to the unity of a church than a nosy individual who desires to know every detail of another person's life, and few things present a more distorted view of the Christian faith than a group of Christians who make it their business to get in everyone else's business.

Unfortunately, this is the picture that many people have of the "typical" church. They see it as a group of self-righteous, nosy people who have nothing better to do than to sit around and talk about what everyone else is doing. Of course, this is not what the church is or what the church does. Paul illustrates how you should conduct yourself with one simple statement: Mind your own business! We are not like the world. The sordid details of other people's lives and the latest tidbits of gossip 101do not concern us. Our life is a stewardship entrusted to us by God. One day we will be required to give an account of how well we managed it. The promise of Christ's return does not give us a reason to be lazy; it gives us a reason to get busy. Jesus had strong words for the "lazy" servant who did not faithfully invest the talents that his master gave him (Matt 25:14-30). The dividends that you get from your investments are God's business—but how you invest your life is your business. For this reason, Christians should be the hardest working and most conscientious people in their schools, on their athletic fields, in their workplaces, and in their neighborhoods (1 Cor 10:31; Eph 5:15-16; 6:6-8; Col 3:23-24; Titus 2:7-8).

Work enables us to live with dignity and purpose (Gen 1:28; 2:15; 3:23; Ps 8:4-8). Paul's challenge to "work with your own hands" (4:11c) is a powerful reminder that the Christian faith is a practical faith. It goes far beyond what happens in a church building at 11 a.m. on Sunday; it affects your life from 9 to 5 on Monday through Friday. Our faith goes to work with us.

Paul's reference to working with your hands may be an indication that many of the new Thessalonian believers had working class jobs, which required manual labor. Also, quite possibly many of them were subjected to slave labor. Perhaps these Christian slaves now thought that they were freed from the tyranny of their work. Greek culture frowned upon any type of manual labor. Only slaves were fit to perform certain jobs. Hard work, toil, and sweat were viewed as demeaning and undignified. In his book Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller offers some insight on the Greek view of work:

God's view of work is very different. Far from shirking our responsibility to work, we honor Him by working diligently with your "own hands" 102(4:11c). Hard work is not a demeaning exercise; it is a means by which God sustains our lives (2 Thess 3:10).

God raises the bar when it comes to how we live and work. Nothing about our lives is insignificant. Everything we do sends a message to the world about what we believe about God (4:3, 12). From our words to our work, we are accountable to God for how we live. If our faith is real on Sunday at church, then it will be just as real on Monday in the office. The most tangible way that we can express love to others is passionately to live out our faith in the world. We do this by not being a nuisance to those within the church; and by being serious about how faithfully we live our lives outside of the church.

1 Thessalonians 4:12

Paul sums up this entire passage by stating why his instruction is so important. Whatever you do, he admonished, be careful to "walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone" (4:12). In this verse Paul makes two significant statements: God never intended for the church to be isolated from its world, and God never intended for His church to be dependent on the world.

God established His church to be more than buildings dotting the landscapes of towns, cities, and countrysides. In fact, God never intended for His church to be a building at all. To be sure, church buildings are important and necessary, but Jesus did not die on the cross so that we could build buildings. He died on the cross to redeem a people. Peter describes the purpose of His redeemed people:

He has called out a people to make a difference in His world by proclaiming His praises. While no Christian would disagree with that statement, not every believer understands how this is supposed to happen.

The Bible gives us two specific ways that we do this. First, we preach the gospel. God has chosen to use "the foolishness of the message preached" to make known His amazing redemptive provision of the 103cross (1 Cor 1:21). So central is preaching to God's redemptive plan that Paul rhetorically asks the Romans, "and how can they hear without a preacher?" (Rom 10:14). The implication is obvious: it is impossible to hear the gospel unless someone preaches it. A few verses later he makes that point clear by saying, "Faith comes from what is heard" (Rom 10:17). For the church to impact its world, the gospel must be heard; for the gospel to be heard, preaching must be central (Matt 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8; 8:4; Eph 3:7-9). Even a cursory reading of the book of Acts reveals that this was a priority for the early church. Preaching was not simply one means by which God established His church; preaching was the primary means by which God established His church. His plan has not changed today.

However, while the preaching of the gospel is primary, it is not the only means by which the church witnesses to the world. The changed lives of those within the church also paint a picture of the gospel. Peter made this clear when he wrote,

To be clear, Peter is not saying that a silent witness is a substitute for preaching, but he is saying that the world judges the validity of your words by the conduct of your life. Paul is making this point to the Thessalonians: the message that we preach and the life that we live are inseparable.

Paul's concluding instruction, to "not be dependent on anyone" (4:12), fittingly sums up this section. A church that is a drain on its city is not going to make a positive impact in its city. As Marshall puts it, Christians should

104Lazy, non-working, unproductive, and inconsiderate Christians who depend on others to meet their needs will be doing little to meet the needs of others. Paul's corrective to this kind of lifestyle is straightforward: love each other genuinely, do your work diligently, and live your life purposefully.

Ron Hutchcraft tells the story of meeting a woman from his church. Upon greeting her, he asked, "What do you do for a living?" With a huge grin she replied, "Pastor, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ—cleverly disguised as a machine operator!" That woman clearly understood that her faith meant something. She got it. Paul did not want the Thessalonians to forget that their faith really mattered. He taught them that their Christianity should show up in the most basic aspects of their lives—including their relationships and their jobs. The profound truth of salvation was imminently practical. Heaven could veritably touch earth through their faith. God did not save them to sit around and wait for heaven. Yes, heaven was their home, but their city was their mission field.

The same is true for us. If we are looking for a practical way that we can take the gospel to our "unreached people group" at work, school, or in our neighborhood, the place to begin is with Paul's practical teaching. We have to live out externally what Jesus has done for us internally. In other words, we've got to live out our faith. Here is how we can do this.

Love others genuinely (4:9-10). God is so passionate that you and I love one another that He not only commands us to do it, but He also empowers us to do it. We will never love others the way we should until we first love God for who He is. Concentrate then on the depth of your walk with Him, and watch how He increases the breadth of your love for others. Yield your will to the Spirit's will. Your heart is His home. Be filled with His Spirit by filling your life with His truth (Col 3:1-2). Don't allow sinful habits to "stifle" His sanctifying work in you (1 Thess 5:19; Eph 4:30). That would only serve to inhibit your ability to love others. Since your heart belongs to Him, allow Him to rearrange things the way He sees fit. Perhaps there will even be a thing or two that He will discard. When He does this, you might discover that the big things that really bother you about other people really aren't that big at all. The envy that keeps you from loving your coworker or the bitterness that prevents 105you from forgiving your spouse will be replaced by a love you never thought possible. It's not because you are trying harder; it's because you are yielding to God's Spirit.

Do your work diligently (4:11). Let us do our work for the approval of God and we will be freed from the tyranny of seeking the approval of others. Remember that how you work matters to God. Trust Him to meet your needs, but work diligently. Wisely invest the talents that He has given you. Do your job with a quiet and restful spirit. Use your hands to reflect a deeper motivation for your work than that of merely earning a paycheck. Don't spend your time worrying about what everyone else is doing. Focus instead on pleasing the Father in the exact place where He has placed you (2 Cor 10:13-15). Don't give a half-hearted effort or cut corners. Give God your all by giving your all to your job. When He is ready to move you, let Him open the doors, but until that day be diligent in how you work.

Live your life purposefully (4:12). We should ask God to make us sensitive to how we live "in the presence of outsiders." Your life is a platform from which you share the gospel. The foundation of that platform is your credibility as a Christian. A genuine love coupled with a diligent work ethic will create open doors for you to share with others what Christ has done for you. Paul demonstrated how your life and lips intersect when you share the gospel. Listen again to his words: "We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives" (1 Thess 2:8; emphasis added). Living out your faith involves more than just loving others or working hard; it means giving your life to love and serve others for the purpose of proclaiming His glorious gospel.