Continue to Work

Late for night, with di light of one small lamp, one man still dey work. Im hands dey rough. Needle dey enter and comot for heavy cloth. E be preacher, and teacher, and apostle. And e dey pay for imself.

Paul don already write once to di church for Thessalonica. Now e write again. Things don scatter small. Some people dey talk say di day of di Lord don already come, and Paul get to calm dem down. And another thing don go wrong. Some members of di church don stop to work. Maybe dem think say, why I go dey stress myself, if di end don near reach? Whatever dem reason be, dem no dey earn wetin dem need. Instead, dem dey eat for other people table, and dem dey put mouth for everybody matter. Paul letter talk to dem straight.

Paul voice become firm. For di name of di Lord Jesus, e talk, make una keep away from any brother wey dey live lazy life, wey no dey follow di teaching wey una receive from us. Then e point to imself. Una self know how una suppose follow our example. We no dey lazy when we dey with una. We no eat anybody bread without to pay for am. Instead we work, with labour and hard work, night and day, so dat we no go be burden for any of una. And see di interesting part. Paul talk say, no be say we no get right to make una support us. Di church fit rightly take care of people wey dey teach God word. But Paul choose not to claim dat right, so dat e go give dem living example to copy.

Then Paul remind dem one rule wey e don give dem face to face. If anybody no gree work, make e no eat. See di words well. No gree work. Paul no dey talk about people wey sick, or wey don old, or wey no fit find work. Di church dey take care of dat kind people. E dey talk about people wey fit work, but dem choose not to work. We hear, e talk, say some of una no dey busy with work, but una dey busy with other people matter. So e tell dem plainly. Settle down. Work quietly. Earn di bread wey you dey eat. Ordinary work, wey person do quietly and well, na part of to follow Jesus too.

And to everybody else for di church, di ones wey dey work hard and dey share dem food, Paul talk dis one. But una, brothers, make una no tire to do good. No let doing good tire you. If somebody refuse to listen, Paul talk, mark am and no keep close company with am, so dat shame go catch am and e go change. But no treat am like enemy. Warn am as brother. Even when Paul get to talk firm, di aim no be to push person comot. Na to bring brother back.

Paul na Jewish teacher wey dem train well, wey also dey work with im hands. Di book of Acts talk say im trade na to make tents. Dat one no strange among Jewish teachers. One saying wey dey inside di Mishnah, one collection of Jewish teaching wey dem write down around di year two hundred, praise di study of God law together with one honest trade. But plenty Greek teachers of dat time dey expect make students or rich people wey dey support dem pay dem.

Continue to work. You go find Paul words for Second Thessalonians chapter three, verse six to fifteen. Faith for Jesus no make ordinary work less important. E make am one way to love other people. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Which work God don give you to do today, and how you fit do am well, and continue to do good?