For the sake of the church, brothers and sisters, we insist in the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed that you withdraw from any brother or sister who is out of order and unwilling to work, who is straying from the line of teaching we passed on to all of you. You know how essential it is to imitate us in the way we live life. We were never undisciplined nor did we take charity from anyone while we were with you. Instead, you saw how we worked very hard day and night so we wouldn’t be a burden to even one person in the community. We had the right to depend on your help and hospitality, as you know; but we wanted to give you a model you could follow, to lay a path of footprints for you to walk in. This is exactly why, while with you, we commanded you: “Anyone not willing to work shouldn’t get to eat!” You see, we are hearing that some folks in the community are out of step with our teaching; they are idle, not working, but really busy doing nothing—and yet still expect to be fed! If this is you or someone else in the community, we insist and urge you in the Lord Jesus the Anointed that you go to work quietly, earn your keep, put food on your own table, and supply your own necessities. And to the rest of you, brothers and sisters, never grow tired of doing good.
If someone disregards the instructions of this letter, make a note of who it is and don’t have anything to do with that person so that this one may be shamed. Don’t consider someone like this an enemy (he is an enemy only to himself) but warn him as if you were redirecting your own brother.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, The Voice
Today I've got work ethic on the mind. A few years ago it seemed that the work ethic of a lot of young people was lacking but now older people have joined their ranks. Now it isn't just one particular age group, it's across the generations. As I was thinking about work ethic I kept thinking in particular about part of today's quote from the Bible, "Anyone not willing to work shouldn't get to eat!" Let's talk about today's quote a little bit. I have more than one thing to say (surprise, surprise) about some of its key points.
After I found today's quote portion and read it in context my eye was caught by several phrases. To start, "Instead, you saw how we worked very hard day and night so we wouldn’t be a burden to even one person in the community." I think we should talk about this in light of the modern workplace, which is a form of community. If every employee does their part, to the very best of their abilities, then there wouldn't be burden. But every employee does not do their part in today's workplace. Some employees do their part, some do theirs plus more, others do just enough to get by, and still others do barely enough. What is going on? Since when was it okay to do "just enough" or barely enough" and therefore place a greater workload on those willing to work for their food (i.e. paycheck)? By doing "just enough" or barely enough" the employee has placed a burden on others in the workplace (i.e. community).
By doing "just enough" or "barely enough" the employee then is an example of the second phrase that caught my eye. "You see, we are hearing that some folks in the community are out of step with our teaching; they are idle, not working, but really busy doing nothing—and yet still expect to be fed!" The employee who pretends to be busy but is really not, who fritters away time in the workplace instead of looking for new ways to be useful (social media has aided in the "frittering away" of time), who performs their job duties half-heartedly, and who expects others to pick up their slack/lack and fix their mistakes and yet still expect to be compensated as if they were actually doing the job are a burden on their company/organization, their co-workers, their boss, and perhaps those who do business with the company/organization. And it amazes me that employees like this "....still expect to be fed!" It amazes me that when finally they are found out they are angry that they are being let go. Um. Okay? Since when do you see anyone getting a paycheck for doing mostly nothing? You don't work, you don't eat.
Maybe you don't like your job, maybe you feel underwhelmed by it, maybe you feel under utilized, maybe you feel overwhelmed. So what. That doesn't mean you don't work it. That doesn't mean you slack off and place the burden of your work on others. This brings me to the third point from today's portion. "And to the rest of you, brothers and sisters, never grow tired of doing good." Never tire of doing good. What is good when it comes to work ethic and the workplace? Good is doing your job to the very best of your abilities. Good is doing your share so that you do not become a burden to others. Good is looking for ways to help others in their tasks. Good is being willing to learn new things so that the load is easier on all. Good is not brushing off mistakes you have made but owning them and making them right and not leaving others to do it. You see what I'm saying? Never tire of doing good.
My fourth, and final, point of today's quote is this, "If someone disregards the instructions of this letter, make a note of who it is and don’t have anything to do with that person so that this one may be shamed. Don’t consider someone like this an enemy (he is an enemy only to himself) but warn him as if you were redirecting your own brother." I think this part is supportive of the variety of performance improvement plans that companies and organizations are doing these days before just firing someone. Documentation is gathered, notes are made. The employee is called in to be redirected. The employee is made aware of their lack and asked to improve and given a specific amount of time to improve. This is called grace my friends. But let us not abuse the grace. If we extend it over and over without any follow through on consequences for no improvement shown then the employee just continues in their ways and perhaps gets even worse. Then the burden on others becomes heavier and the company/organization can end up losing good employees because of their unwillingness to handle the "bad" employee. Note also what is said in this portion. "He (she) is an enemy only to him(her)self." That's important to consider. Yes, the employee that is a burden on others is tough to work with, or around as the case may be. But they are not an enemy to anyone but themselves. In the end they do themselves a great disservice, and perhaps their family as well if they are the sole provider. Tough and hard lessons to learn which is why redirection should always be attempted.
"Anyone not willing to work shouldn't get to eat!" I tackled the idleness in today's modern workplace becuse it is the most common form of earning a paycheck in America. And in America we are a lazy bunch, although the Greeks might actually take first place in that - ha. In America we think we are entitled to certain things without much effort or any sweat equity. We have perfected the new definition of idle with our preference to be on social media sites more than our work emails, with our preference to do as little as possible but still expect payment, etc. This is not okay. We should not be content with that kind of behavior within ourselves or from other people. We have a responsibility to ourselves and others to hold to the highest standards possible and be known for our productivity rather than idleness.
Not willing to work? Eventually you aren't going to be eating. Just sayin'.
After I found today's quote portion and read it in context my eye was caught by several phrases. To start, "Instead, you saw how we worked very hard day and night so we wouldn’t be a burden to even one person in the community." I think we should talk about this in light of the modern workplace, which is a form of community. If every employee does their part, to the very best of their abilities, then there wouldn't be burden. But every employee does not do their part in today's workplace. Some employees do their part, some do theirs plus more, others do just enough to get by, and still others do barely enough. What is going on? Since when was it okay to do "just enough" or barely enough" and therefore place a greater workload on those willing to work for their food (i.e. paycheck)? By doing "just enough" or barely enough" the employee has placed a burden on others in the workplace (i.e. community).
By doing "just enough" or "barely enough" the employee then is an example of the second phrase that caught my eye. "You see, we are hearing that some folks in the community are out of step with our teaching; they are idle, not working, but really busy doing nothing—and yet still expect to be fed!" The employee who pretends to be busy but is really not, who fritters away time in the workplace instead of looking for new ways to be useful (social media has aided in the "frittering away" of time), who performs their job duties half-heartedly, and who expects others to pick up their slack/lack and fix their mistakes and yet still expect to be compensated as if they were actually doing the job are a burden on their company/organization, their co-workers, their boss, and perhaps those who do business with the company/organization. And it amazes me that employees like this "....still expect to be fed!" It amazes me that when finally they are found out they are angry that they are being let go. Um. Okay? Since when do you see anyone getting a paycheck for doing mostly nothing? You don't work, you don't eat.
Maybe you don't like your job, maybe you feel underwhelmed by it, maybe you feel under utilized, maybe you feel overwhelmed. So what. That doesn't mean you don't work it. That doesn't mean you slack off and place the burden of your work on others. This brings me to the third point from today's portion. "And to the rest of you, brothers and sisters, never grow tired of doing good." Never tire of doing good. What is good when it comes to work ethic and the workplace? Good is doing your job to the very best of your abilities. Good is doing your share so that you do not become a burden to others. Good is looking for ways to help others in their tasks. Good is being willing to learn new things so that the load is easier on all. Good is not brushing off mistakes you have made but owning them and making them right and not leaving others to do it. You see what I'm saying? Never tire of doing good.
My fourth, and final, point of today's quote is this, "If someone disregards the instructions of this letter, make a note of who it is and don’t have anything to do with that person so that this one may be shamed. Don’t consider someone like this an enemy (he is an enemy only to himself) but warn him as if you were redirecting your own brother." I think this part is supportive of the variety of performance improvement plans that companies and organizations are doing these days before just firing someone. Documentation is gathered, notes are made. The employee is called in to be redirected. The employee is made aware of their lack and asked to improve and given a specific amount of time to improve. This is called grace my friends. But let us not abuse the grace. If we extend it over and over without any follow through on consequences for no improvement shown then the employee just continues in their ways and perhaps gets even worse. Then the burden on others becomes heavier and the company/organization can end up losing good employees because of their unwillingness to handle the "bad" employee. Note also what is said in this portion. "He (she) is an enemy only to him(her)self." That's important to consider. Yes, the employee that is a burden on others is tough to work with, or around as the case may be. But they are not an enemy to anyone but themselves. In the end they do themselves a great disservice, and perhaps their family as well if they are the sole provider. Tough and hard lessons to learn which is why redirection should always be attempted.
"Anyone not willing to work shouldn't get to eat!" I tackled the idleness in today's modern workplace becuse it is the most common form of earning a paycheck in America. And in America we are a lazy bunch, although the Greeks might actually take first place in that - ha. In America we think we are entitled to certain things without much effort or any sweat equity. We have perfected the new definition of idle with our preference to be on social media sites more than our work emails, with our preference to do as little as possible but still expect payment, etc. This is not okay. We should not be content with that kind of behavior within ourselves or from other people. We have a responsibility to ourselves and others to hold to the highest standards possible and be known for our productivity rather than idleness.
Not willing to work? Eventually you aren't going to be eating. Just sayin'.
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