And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 NLT)
In striking contrast to this, those who came to our base who depended on the government were some of the most obnoxious, demanding people imaginable. They could become outraged if they did not get their demands met immediately, or if they were asked to do anything like help serve meals or unload a truck. That is when I began to understand how the entitlement mentality that has been fostered by governments around the world would ultimately result in unprecedented lawlessness. No earthly government will be able to meet the needs of all their people the way they are now trying to do. An ultimate disappointment and disillusionment with government is coming. Even psychology has determined that a human being will go insane if deprived of meaningful labor. Charity is a crucial aspect of the Christian life, but charity was always meant to be people helping people, whereas institutional charity dehumanizes people. How is it that so few seem to understand that our present welfare system puts the people we claim to be helping into a terrible bondage from which few are able to escape? It is right to help those who cannot help themselves, but it is wrong to give to those who can work and yet refuse to. Why are we discussing this in relation to The Great Commission? The government of God is not going to be a welfare state. The Apostle Paul said that if we are not willing to work then we should not be allowed to eat (see II Thessalonians 3:10). Sounds harsh, but this is far more compassionate than making people codependent.
http://www.morningstarministries.org/resources/word-week/2013/understanding-one-another-great-commission-part-36#.UirSjGS9Kc0
In striking contrast to this, those who came to our base who depended on the government were some of the most obnoxious, demanding people imaginable. They could become outraged if they did not get their demands met immediately, or if they were asked to do anything like help serve meals or unload a truck. That is when I began to understand how the entitlement mentality that has been fostered by governments around the world would ultimately result in unprecedented lawlessness. No earthly government will be able to meet the needs of all their people the way they are now trying to do. An ultimate disappointment and disillusionment with government is coming. Even psychology has determined that a human being will go insane if deprived of meaningful labor. Charity is a crucial aspect of the Christian life, but charity was always meant to be people helping people, whereas institutional charity dehumanizes people. How is it that so few seem to understand that our present welfare system puts the people we claim to be helping into a terrible bondage from which few are able to escape? It is right to help those who cannot help themselves, but it is wrong to give to those who can work and yet refuse to. Why are we discussing this in relation to The Great Commission? The government of God is not going to be a welfare state. The Apostle Paul said that if we are not willing to work then we should not be allowed to eat (see II Thessalonians 3:10). Sounds harsh, but this is far more compassionate than making people codependent.
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