A Perfect World

Idleness and disruption can damage a group of people trying to live and work together.

Every ship’s crew is grouped together in teams of members who have been trained to do the same tasks. One group can skillfully navigate the ship. One group expertly handles the ropes. Another group takes charge of the technology and computers. And still another group masterfully maintains all the essential engines. It requires all members in each of those groups to do their job.

Inevitably, the youngest, most novice crew members on ships will not want to participate in the work. They tend to try to avoid it. And inevitably, someone finds out that those young, inexperienced crew members did not complete their work.

The older, crustier, saltier, more experienced crew members offer on-the-spot training. Sometimes that extra training makes life more difficult for the novices than if they had done their assigned work as contributing members of the crew in the first place.

Whatever extra training the older sailors can come up with could not be as severe as Paul’s suggestion. He tells the congregation that any members of the community unwilling to work should not eat. Those are pretty harsh consequences. But they drive home a point: If we remain idle how can we obtain food?

But it feels as if Paul has more in mind. Is Paul asking the community to think about this truth in a spiritual context? If we remain unwilling to work in our faith, how can we keep it alive? Life as God intends must be connected to our faith. If we want to live a Christlike life, then we have to be intentional, active, and always in pursuit of the good. To live is to pursue Christ.