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Sub-contracting the good news? 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 OK, I am going to ‘vent my spleen’ – but I do hope that it will be a ‘scripture-based’ venting. You can be the judge of that.  I hear it frequently, and I suspect you do as well. I hear brothers and sisters in the faith complain about Christianity being pushed out of our lives, pushed out of our ‘Christian’ nation. I heard it again from colleagues when I was at school just last week. There’s an attitude of woe is me, woe is us poor little, defenseless Christians. We’re just being overrun by all those other folks – including secular folks, godless folks, or simply any and all folks who don’t think and behave as we do. Woe is me, woe is us. Can’t even have prayers whenever and wherever we want. Can’t even have the ten commandments posted wherever we want them to be posted and displayed. Woe is me, woe is us.  Forgive my cynicism, but I ask you: are we not free to worship in our temples, in God’s houses of worship of every conceivable Christian denomination? Are we not free to pray in our churches, in our homes, in fellowship gatherings? Are we not free to post the ten commandments in our homes, cars, and churches? (Ask yourself when you last saw the ten commandments displayed inside or outside of a church!) The apostle Paul writes: For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. (11) One way to interpret Paul’s scathing (yes, he can be very scathing!) criticism is make the direct connection with our work as Christians – not merely our employment, but our call to be disciples and make other disciples. When we complain about the diminished role and impact of our faith, we’re in fact complaining about ourselves, about me, and you. It’s not up to others - the government, courts, schoolteachers – to assume this responsibility for us. We are the people who are called to do that, and it’s neither appropriate nor necessary to sub-contract with anybody else to spread the message about Jesus. It’s up to you, it’s up to me. Paul and his followers were tireless in their work of spreading the gospel, and the vast majority of those they encountered wanted nothing to do with them. Even those they converted to the faith found plenty to squabble about within the new church communities. Busybodies, more concerned about themselves than about the work of the church. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. (13)  There is so much work to be done, and we have so much freedom within which we are able to be the Christians we are called to be. We have no need for the woe is us attitude. Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. (10) The table of the Lord has ample food for all, including especially those folks who may be most unlike us, the ones we must love. We need to invite them to the table and to share in the great banquet. We need to do that, you, and me.   - Pastor Piet - Nov.18, 2007