Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 9 through 12:
9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Christianity teaches self reliance. From the very beginning it has been a part of our core ethical teaching that we are to work hard and well enough that we are able to make ends meet for ourselves and save enough to help our neighbor make ends meet also.
There is an inherent dignity to work; and when we take work away or de-incentivize work through either too low of wages or too broad of welfare then the dignity of work is lost.
When the Israelites first came across the Red Sea they had nothing to eat in the wilderness. So God gave them manna. Only God did not give it to them in their dishes within their rooms. No, somebody from the family had to go out of the tent and gather it up. Somebody had to work. And the work was good. The work taught them self-reliance, independence, and gave them a sense of their own self-worth. These were things they never had under Pharaoh.
There is the old adage: "Give a man a fish you feed him for a day; teach him to fish you feed him for a lifetime." I was talking with a person who studies and teaches entrepreneurship at the college the other day. She said non-profits aren't doing enough to teach people real-life, practical, and employable skills in the real world job market. It makes me ask you all: Is there someone you need to teach how to fish? Could the church provide the pole, the boat, and the tackle, rather than just a filet?
"Work with your hands . . . and be dependent on no one," St Paul said. In other words, work and learn to live free.
How can a church like ours help to make others free?
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