Lazy Liberty

I & II THESSALONIANS

In the Thessalonian Church, the members were misinformed -- some of them thought that Christ was about to return. This meant that each of them was going to be saved from the earth and taken to Heaven. They reacted accordingly -- essentially they went up on a hill, hung out, enjoyed themselves, and waited for paradise. Paul recognized this as being idle, or lazy, but instead of correcting their behavior he corrected their beliefs. He explained that Christ had not yet returned, that we did not know at what time he would return, and therefore there is still work to be done. Throughout his two letters to the Thessalonians, he devotes a large portion to explain the end times, and really only corrects them on one fault -- their idleness.

What stands out is that the Thessalonican lack of labor seems to stem from misunderstanding one truth.

After class our Professor asked us to write on this question: "As a 21st century person, what is our perception of idleness?"

Now I am not going to pretend that I have a full understanding as to what causes others to be lazy, but perhaps in considering my own tendencies I may illuminate portions of this truth.

What do I mean by idleness? I think idleness could be defined as being willing to settle.

Examples from my life:
Am I going to quit writing this blog and allow my mind to become immersed in the wonderful fourth season of Gilmore Girls? (this sounds utterly glorious right now...) I could probably finish this blog tomorrow, and I deserve to relax, I have had a long day.Am I going to walk in indifferent silence with my friends, passively observing their conversation, or am I going to engage with and enjoy them? Am I going to disengage in class and doodle mindlessly, or engage and enjoy learning? Am I going to sleep in an extra ten minutes so that I am rushed in to the day, or am I going to get up and savor the first (and likely only) moment of stillness, accompanied by a steaming cup of earl grey tea?

I suppose some of you might react and say: "so what - what if I am quiet person? or I don't like school? and I prefer sleep over any caffienated beverage." And to that I would reply -- "Okay, but you probably have other things in your life that you care about. The point is that a lot of times the things we care about take effort; they are not as easily actualized as we first imagined."

There is a truth behind all good things -- they are enjoyed by hard work. Even something like a leisurly vacation to New York was earned by a year at the office. We also live in a country that stands for liberty, taken so far that long-accepted morals are viewed through the lense of cynicism. Essentially, people doubt the value of the law to be anything besides restrictive on their own desires. Taking freedom so far makes it the enemy of hard work. We have placed these truths in opposition to eachother, when in fact they are a part of the same system. We think that hard-work is solely restrictive to our freedom, yet it enables us to pursue good things. Hard-work is actually the pathway to enjoying freedom.

So what theological doctrine do I see this solved by? Actually, by the death and resurrection of Christ.

1. Because of the resurrection of Christ, we have been set free. Not free in the sense that we can redefine the morality of the universe, but free in the sense that we can now pursue and enjoy being good people. Try to imagine an ideal relationship -- Do you wish you could love your boy/girlfriend more? Do you picture being insightful enough to help a friend in confusion and merciful enough to comfort them in difficulty? Normally you would be hindered by indifference or ignorance. But through Christ's resurrection he has conquered these vices and weaknesses; you are now freed to pursue all that is good.

2. Because of the death of Christ, these good things come through hard work. Christ could not have been raised from the dead if he had not died. If we do not die to our laziness and self-indulgence, we will not be able to know the good things we long for.

So there are my thoughts. Why do we work hard and battle idleness? Because that is the only way to have the good that we long for. How is this made possible? Because Christ has freed us to pursue what is good.