Work Ethic

2 Thesselonians 3

6Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us.
7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you,
8and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you.
9This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate.
10For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
11For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.
12Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
13Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
14Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed.
15Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.
Final Greetings and Benediction

16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.
17I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

Though Jesus and Paul aren't always on the same page

Matthew 6

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


Matthew 15
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.
39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Mark 8

Luke 9
12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.”
14 (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down.
16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.
17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Luke 12

John 6