You’ve likely heard the phrase, “He who will not work will not eat.” That’s not just a maxim made up by some social conservative on some podcast. No, that’s straight from the Bible. It’s from the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:10. And these words speak to a very important principle in life: idleness should not be aided and abetted.

Idleness is the sin of laziness. It’s avoiding purposeful work or personal responsibility. Now, there are certainly those among us who CANNOT work. They are mentally or physically disabled or institutionalized. These folks should be helped. But there are so many more who simply will not work. They are able but find work too hard or not worth the effort. And sadly, we as a society make it easier on them. We aid and abet idleness through social programs. I’ll never forget one time hearing a welfare agent tell a woman, “If you’ll quit your job, we can help you.”

Beloved, this is not the way Jesus wants us to live. Apostle Paul says we are to follow his example there among the Thessalonians. He wasn’t idle. He didn’t eat other people’s bread. No, he worked and paid his own way that he might not be a burden on anybody. People who can work should work. They should settle in and earn their own living.

And for those who won’t, let them not eat. To the man able to ride his bicycle or walk to that intersection and beg for donations, let him not eat. To the perpetual front-porch sitter, let him not eat. To the adult child still scrounging off his parents, let him not eat. To the fraudulant disability claimer and the system manipulator, let him not eat. To the job snob who is overqualified to work, let him not eat. To the lazy one stretched on the couch when the rest of the world is working, let him not eat.

Does that sound harsh? It actually sounds biblical. And biblical is always right.

Change begins in you!