Your Being Watched

And do everything you can to live a quiet life. You should mind your own business. And work with your hands, just as we told you to. Then unbelievers will have respect for your everyday life. And you won't have to depend on anyone (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). Yesterday's text encouraged the church to grow in the discipline of love. Christian charity always includes practical stuff like providing meals and offering transportation. Paul recognizes that this practice could be taken advantage of—some deciding to live off of the largess of others. Folks among the lower social classes might take up residence on the estate of a wealthy Christian, expecting the well healed to provide for their wellbeing. That is one issue Paul addresses here. There is also another. Since Christians expected Jesus to return real soon, some had decided to abandon the normal pursuits of life, such as paid employment, and were camped on a hillside. With their noses turned up to the sky they spent the day singing Kumbaya and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. They were creating a bit of a disturbance in the neighbourhood, expecting to be supplied with provisions and suggesting other Christians didn't have enough faith. As we might imagine, those who followed other gods, thought these Jesus followers had lost touch with reality. As a result, Christ's name was being discredited. Whether one was camped on the hillside or illegally on some estate, without the normal pursuits of life these folks had too much time on their hands. As a result, they had begun to gossip and contribute their opinions into situations to which they had not been invited. Paul recognizes that if the rule of love is to be effective, the rule of work must also be practiced. Christians must learn to live peaceably, not creating social disturbances. They must mind their own business not always prying into what other people are doing under the guise of 'family' interest. And they must do their best to find paid employment or something else that will benefit society. Outsiders, looking at a movement that claims Jesus is Lord of the world, will be interested to see what effect this claim has on behaviour. Healthy financial behaviour, like sexual behaviour, is one telling indicator of the fitness and integrity of a community. Of course, within the fellowship, those in need should be provided for. This was why the place of widows, women left without a breadwinner, so quickly became important in the early church (Acts 6.1; 1 Timothy 5.3-16). However, these recipients should make themselves useful in other ways. These are not side issues, away from the real theological heart of the Christian gospel. If God has created a family in Christ, and if that family is based on and characterized by nothing less than self-giving love, these things are vital. Happy the church that discovers what love in practice looks and feels like. Equally blessed in the Christian community that contributes to the wellbeing of the society in which they live. So that our daily living may win the respect of outsiders and that we will not be unnecessarily dependent on anybody (4:12). As you journey on, go with the blessing of God: May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you! (1 Thessalonians 5:23,24,28 The Message).