During Sunday School, this verse stuck out to me. It pretty much sums up a lot of my political beliefs in addition to the scriptural application.
"If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."
~ II Thessalonians 3:10b
Throughout the Bible, God provided for his people over and over again - but his provisions were never hand outs; the Israelites always had to work. When God provided manna, they had to collect it (and collect enough on the 6th day to last through the end of the week). When the farmers harvested their grain, they left parts of their fields for the poor so that they could harvest some themselves. These provisions required that the people put out some effort in order to receive them.
There is a major difference between helping the working poor and enabling the lazy. Just as Paul told the Thessalonians - if someone isn't willing to work, he should not be able to partake in the spoil. I believe that when you give things away for nothing ("trickle-down"/"redistribution of wealth"), it encourages laziness instead of hard work.
2 comments:
I like to eat.
Me too!
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