Saturday, May 01, 2010

The Flip Side of 2 Thess: 3:10

Paul said, "For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."." (2 Thess 3:10) But is the flip side of this statement true? Do you think that those who either work, are attempting the best they can to work, or people who are unable to work should eat? In particular, should we make sure that children are taken care of?




It doesn't seem to fit well with the New Testament to think that, for example there is no problem with someone putting in a 40-hour work week and then sleeping on the streets or in their car. So a Christian can't very well oppose the goal of seeing to it that workers, or would-be workers, be able to make a living working. What they might oppose, however, is deputize the government and making use of taxpayer money to accomplish this goal. But how else could it be accomplished?

3 comments:

Latenter said...

It seems to me that "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" is a very Christian idea.

But I also think that Christianity is much more concerned with the individual "heart issue" than with the outcome. I think that one who makes more than he needs should spend the excess on giving to those who make less than what they need.

But whether it makes good sense for government to redistribute wealth is a question that Christianity seems utterly disinterested in.

What Christians must do, however, is to give their own excess before complaining about what others do.

Shackleman said...

"What Christians must do, however, is to give their own excess before complaining about what others do."

--quoted for truth.

Emanuel Goldstein said...

Taxation is government authorized theft at gunpoint.

"The power to tax is the power to destroy".