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. -- 2Thessalonians 3: 10-15 (NLT)
The context reveals that these verses do not apply to the OWS people. These verses deal with people who do not want to work. The people protesting want to work, that is why they are protesting! They are not protesting so that the government can exempt them from working. You may be of the opinion that they are "lazy" or somehow not trying hard enough but I actually try to help people find work for a living and I can attest to how brutal it is out there. The true unemployment rate is probably closer to 20%. The jobs being offered are simply not enough to live on, come with no health insurance, and are often temporary or under hours. The other truth revealed from the context of these verses however is how WE should act. The Apostle Paul does not say that we should treat these people with contempt, lie about them, or sneer at them. He says we should treat them not as enemies but warn them as if they were a brother or sister. It says never tire of doing GOOD. But the bash OWS crowd seems to never tire of pointing their fingers and criticizing. Here is the Word of the Lord:
I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them! When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims. Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. -- Isaiah 1: 14-17 (NLT)
The churchians are pretty good and the pomp and circumstance of celebrations and festivals. They have no problem lifting up hands in pseudo-piety. What God is saying here is to check your hands before raising them to Him to see whose blood you have on them. Give up your sins. Learn to do good. And then what does the Lord say is doing good? Seeking justice. Helping the oppressed. Defending the cause and fighting for the rights of the needy. Do you still think Jesus would be on Sean Hannity's great American panel? If you honestly think that there is no injustice in our current system then forget your soul, you have no heart. If you honestly do not believe that there is oppression for the lowest in our society today then I advise you to stop watching Fox News. There is a world out there and it is hurting.
Even the fledgling Christian church in the Book of Acts made sure everyone was taken care of:
All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. -- Acts 4: 32-35 (NLT)
Gosh, that sounds downright socialist! Gasp! The people at OWS don't want socialism, they want social justice. They want the same thing God speaks about throughout the entire Bible. They want the same thing Jesus taught about. Once Christ told a parable about the Good Samaritan. Most of us know the story. A man is mugged essentially and left for dead on the street. He is passed over by a Temple Assistant and a Priest. But a Samaritan stopped and helped him, bandaged him, and paid for him to recover at a nearby inn. But the context of this parable is the point. Jesus told it because He was asked the question -- "who is my neighbor?" The Samaritan was chosen as the hero of this story by Jesus because there was much hatred towards them by the Jewish people then. Who is my neighbor I think is the question we need to ask ourselves today as well. We need to ask it when we hear the hate merchants on TV and radio trying to stir up our darker side. We need to ask it when we think that we know the motives of people we never even met. We need to ask it when we start to use God to defend things He obviously would never defend. Jesus finishes the Parable of the Good Samaritan with these words:
"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." -- Luke 10: 36-37 (NLT)
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