Earn your keep

2 Thessalonians 3:10-13 (NIV)

For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

The context of this verse comes after tremendous prophecies regarding the end times. Can you see how some people could concern themselves so much with Jesus' return that they forget they need to be about their everyday life of working and paying the bills? I remember one preacher suggesting that there was no need in paying off your mortgage since we were all going to be raptured away soon. Paul deals with this problem head on. Spiritual activities should not preclude your secular responsibilities. Paul says, never tire of doing right, that is to say, never tire of pulling your share of the load.