WORKING AND EATING

When Lyndon Johnson was president of the United States, he proposed a "war on poverty." You probably have heard some television pundit say: We declared war on poverty and poverty won. We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on helping the poor and have actually encouraged some people to profit from their poverty. I can give you one example from my own experience. For a number of years, my Molly and I owned some sporting goods stores. One of those stores, The Sportsman, was located in downtown Dalton, Georgia. There was a large family on welfare in our town. Three of the little boys from that family would buy boxes of candy, leave a box in my store and then come by to pick up the money when the candy was sold. They bought their own clothes and other items. The Dalton Junior Chamber of Commerce saw how hard those little boys worked. They looked around and found employment for the father of the boys. When they told the father they had found work, he asked them how much it paid. They told him. He refused to go to work because he could make more on welfare. The welfare system in the United States has made parasites of millions of people.

Dr. Bill Cosby, the famous comedian, and Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, a Harvard psychiatrist, have done us a favor by publishing the book, Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007). Throughout the book, the two authors emphasize that the way to escape poverty is to work. They ask: "How do you get out of poverty?" They claim that some scholars have criticized them "for not blaming everything on white people as they do." They reveal: "Our youth have this idea that they can grow rich as drug dealers, but they are more likely to grow old in prison, or grow dead, than grow rich." Cosby and Pouissaint affirm that drug dealing is fifty times more dangerous than lumberjacking, the most lethal legitimate occupation" (pp. 221-222). They strongly recommend: Get an education, get married and go to work. That would eliminate almost entirely the poverty in our great nation.

Juan Williams, a senior correspondent for National Public Radio, discusses Bill Cosby's challenge to the black community. Williams' book has the title, Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America-and What We Can Do about It (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006). Williams' book discusses the work Bill Cosby is doing in our nation. Williams quotes Linda Chavez, the former head of the U. S. Civil Rights Commission as saying about Hurricane Katrina: the "chief cause of poverty today among blacks is no longer racism-it is the breakdown of the traditional family" (p. 221). The word "responsibility" is the key word in Juan Williams' book. He and Bill Cosby use the word over and over to stress the need for all of us--black and white--to make us responsible for ourselves and for our families. According to Juan Williams, Bill Cosby "put his standing with other black leaders at risk when he asked black people not to respond to leaders who are just trying to make a buck by using their poverty to get a cut of a government poverty program" (p. 232). Incidentally, Juan Williams is not a conservative.

In my judgment, one of the best books ever written on work is Chuck Colson and Jack Eckerd's book, Why America Doesn't Work: How the Decline of the Work Ethic Is Hurting Your Family and Future-and What You Can Do about it (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991). I am sure you remember that Chuck Colson was imprisoned because of his involvement in the Watergate affair. He works now with Prison Fellowship and has written a number of bestsellers. Jack Eckerd established 1,700 drugstores and employed 35,000 men and women. Their book has the endorsement of some of America's most influential leaders, such as, William Bennett, Sam Walton, Carl F. H. Henry, and William Armstrong.

“A 1991 report from the Department of Labor's Commission on Achieving Skills concluded that 'More than half of our young people today leave school without the knowledge or foundation required to find and hold a job.... Many of these youth will never be able to earn a decent living" (p. 21). In a 1982 survey for a nonprofit foundation, workers were asked if they were working hard and doing their best. "Only 16 percent said they were doing the best job they could at work; 84 percent said they could be working harder and doing better. Many said they could be twice as effective" (p. 59). Colson and Eckerd quote these appropriate words from Perry Pascarella's book, The New Achievers: Creating a Modern 'Work Ethic (New York: Free Press, 1984): "Work ... presents moral issues. But we have not attended to them. (We) ignore the other moral considerations having to do with work. We offer only endless tasks for those who would try to escape confrontation with life, and we encourage their being distracted or pacified through the consumption of goods and services" (p. 123).

How do I justify speaking about work? Is it really a moral issue, as Pascarella affirms? I suspect most of you know the emphasis the word of God places on work. In the very beginning of the human family, God "took the man, and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress (or cultivate) it and to keep it" (Gen. 2:15). After Adam and Eve had sinned, God said to Adam: "Because you have hearkened unto the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you saying, You shall not eat of it; cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat of the herb of the field; in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and unto dust you shall return" (Gen. 3: 17-19). Before Adam sinned, God had given him work to do, but the work became more difficult after his rebellion against the Lord.

The duty of working is a significant part of the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment reads as follows: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do your work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath unto the Lord your God: in it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger who is within your gate" (Ex. 20:8-10). The Ten Commandments do not apply to us, but work is taught throughout the Bible.

The ancient Jews strongly believed in work. There is an old Jewish tradition that says: "He who does not teach his son a trade teaches him to steal." Did you know that the Jewish rabbis in ancient times did not depend on contributions for their livelihood? They were tailors, barbers, shoemakers, bakers and even performers. They no doubt had learned from Genesis and from other Old Testament books the value and the beauty of work. Solomon had taught the Jews, including the rabbis, the true significance of work. "Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God" (Eccl. 5:18-19).

Some of the Thessalonian Christians had misunderstood the Apostle Paul's teaching on the second coming of Christ. They apparently thought the return of Christ was so near there was no point in working to provide for themselves and for their families. Surely that was not really a serious matter. Please listen to Paul. "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks disorderly, and not after the tradition that he received of us" (2 Thess. 3:6). And who were the disorderly? The meaning of the word will become very clear as I read from this passage. "For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some that walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them who are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread" (2 Thess. 3:7-12).

There are a number of great truths in this passage I ask you to explore with me. The apostle Paul commanded the Thessalonians to withdraw from those who walk disorderly. We are now in a position to define the word "disorderly." The English Standard Version renders verse 6: "Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received of us." In ancient times, the word involved playing truant or failing to attend. If you have any doubt of the meaning of the word "disorderly," please listen: "For we hear that there are some who walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies" (2 Thess. 3: 11). So what is the meaning of the word "disorderly?" It means working not at all, idle - i-d-l-e.

The Apostle Paul had the authority to appeal to the church for his financial support. After all, those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel (1 Cor. (9:14). But Paul wanted to be an example to the Thessalonians. He told the Thessalonians: "Neither did we eat any man's bread for nothing; but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: not because we do not have the authority, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us" (2 Thess. 3:8-9). Paul used similar language in his farewell address to the Ephesian elders: "I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them who were with me" (Acts 20:33-34). Paul, an apostle and a faithful gospel preacher, worked with his own hands to support himself and to help others.

By the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, Paul reminded the Thessalonians: "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should eat" (2 Thess. 3: 10). The English Standard Version renders the last part of that verse: "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." We must make a distinction between those who cannot work and those who will not work. Christian compassion demands that we take care of those who cannot work. I remember meeting a man probably fifty years ago who was permanently injured when he fell off a horse. He was never able to get out of bed and suffered for many years. What if his family had not cared for the man? Would it have not been the responsibility of his fellow church members or his neighbors to care for him? He did not work because he could not work. But he deserved to be fed and clothed.

One of my younger sisters contracted polio when she was three years old. She was in and out of the hospital many times. She could not work, although nothing would have pleased her more. She was able to attend school only in her senior year in high school. My parents spent an enormous amount of money on her doctor and hospital bills. Our home congregation never had to help pay her medical expenses, but was it not their obligation to do so if my parents could not have cared for her? I know that church well enough to know they would have helped had it been necessary.

But what is the church's obligation or the government's obligation to those who will not work? If people are not willing to work and work is available, anyone who takes care of them is doing them and our culture a disservice. Why should the church or the government support people who are so sorry they will not work? Personally I do not want my tax money or the contributions I make to the church to be spent on those who are too lazy to work. And if the government and other organizations quit supporting those who will not work, they would be forced to go to work or starve. Besides, both churches and the government would have available vast sums of money to spend on worthwhile projects.

My father was not a highly educated man, but he knew how to get his children to prepare for a life of work. He taught my older brothers how to build houses. He assigned me the work of operating our farm. In fact, I made my first crop by myself when I was twelve. He knew we needed to learn to work and he made it his duty to see to that we worked. Each morning when he left for work, he would tell me what he wanted me to do during the day. I knew I had to do what he told me to do or there would be trouble. Laziness and carelessness were not tolerated. As a result of the training our father provided, the ten surviving children have always made a living at some kind of work.

Some of our neighbors said Mr. Claiborne was too hard on his children. But not one of those ten children would ever say that. Not one of us has ever been without work. Please understand that I am not boasting, but all of us have had companies seeking us to work for them. My father loved to come into my sporting goods store in Dalton, Georgia. He loved to brag on his children. He would say, in effect: "My children have always made me proud. They have always been hard workers." I never said anything to him about his observations, but I have often wondered if he thought we volunteered for work. We had no choice. We knew it was better to work than to suffer the consequences.

Did you know that many of the leading figures in the Reformation movement extolled the value of work. Chuck Colson and Jack Eckerd provide a number of excerpts from some of the Reformation leaders. They quote Martin Luther as saying: "The work of the monks and priests ... 'in God's sight are (is) in no way whatever superior to the works of a farmer laboring in the field, or of a woman looking after her home.”’ Colson and Eckerd comment: "The view that scrubbing floors held as much dignity as occupying the pulpit democratized the work ethic" (p. 36). William Tyndale, an English Reformer, taught: "If we look externally, there is a difference betwixt the washing of dishes and preaching the Word of God; but as touching to please God, in relation to His call, none at all" (p. 37).

Many of us are familiar with what is sometimes called the "Calvinist work ethic" or "the Protestant work ethic." John Calvin did advocate hard work, and not just to meet our own needs. We must also work to help others. But that approach is not a "Calvinist work ethic" or a "Protestant work ethic"; it is a biblical work ethic. In my judgment, John Calvin's influence has been detrimental to the cause of Christ, but he was right about the value of work.

Sometimes parents say they do not want their children to have to work as hard as they did. My Molly and I never made such foolish observations about our sons. During the summer and during the fall and spring breaks from school - both in high school and in college - our sons worked in our sporting goods stores. They may not have fully understood why they had to work when many of their classmates did not. Our older son owns an independent insurance agency. The younger son is chairperson of the Department of Engineering Technology at a state university. They work hard because they were taught to work hard. Their mother and I tried to set an example of being devoted to our work. I am confident our sons would tell you of their parents' hard work.

I close our discussion with an excerpt from Kenneth Scott Latourette's book, A History of Christianity: Beginnings to 1500. Dr. Latourette gives some credit for ending slavery to Christianity's emphasis on work. Please listen. "Christianity undercut slavery by giving dignity to work, no matter how seemingly trivial that might be. Traditionally, labor, which might be performed by slaves, was despised as degrading to the freeman. Christian teachers said that all should work and that labor should be done as to Christ as master and as to God and in the sight of God. Work became a Christian duty" (volume 1, p. 246).

Winford Claiborne

The International Gospel Hour

P.O. Box 118

Fayetteville, TN 37334