November 28

1 Thessalonians 1-5; 2 Thessalonians 1-3
What do you write to a church that is already doing all that you’ve taught, living above and beyond the instruction given?  Well, Paul uses the opportunity to encourage them, while reminding them of some of his teachings.  The students I found the most difficult were those who were extremely intelligent.  These challenged me, because I had to look for ways to help them improve what was already excellent work.  This is what the apostle was doing with the Thessalonians.  One of his teachings near the end of these two letters bears repeating:  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “Anyone who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”  In our present condition we find many able-bodied people who are perfectly happy to live off the welfare system.  While we have an obligation to help those who cannot help themselves, we should be encouraging the others to earn their living.  Even so, we should be taking a lesson from Paul’s play book, seeking to encourage all.