Why bother if I can get it free?

"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’"- 2 Thessalonians 3:10

"I do not choose to be a common man," writes Dean Alfange. He continues, "It is my right to be uncommon. I seek opportunity to develop whatever talents God gave me–not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed..."

In simple terms, Alfange is saying, "With the help of God I’d rather do it myself, than be dependent on the government or others to do it for me." Now, here’s the tough question: Are such words admirable rhetoric, but impractical in today’s world? Is self-sufficiency something that historians wrote about but is not practical today?

I’m thinking of the time when a man came to me in extreme difficulty. He was out of work, he had a family to support, and he couldn’t get to where he wanted to go in life. "I think I can help you," I responded. Instead of simply giving him money which would have been a quick but very temporary fix, I called a friend who readily agreed to employ him.

A few days later I saw the person and asked how his job was going. "No," he said, "I couldn’t take that position." "And why not?" I asked with surprise. "Well," he said, "I could get almost as much from the government for not working, so I said, ‘Why bother?’"

Why bother? That was the very question in the minds of people who lived in the Greek city of Thessalonica almost two thousand years ago. They were expecting the return of Jesus Christ so they sat around and sat around and sang choruses and decided they wouldn’t bother to plow the fields or keep on working. When Paul heard of this, he reminded them that even he refused to take "anyone’s food without paying for it." He reminded them that he worked "night and day"–yes, those were his very words–so he would not be a burden to anyone. Then he said, "For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat’ " (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Why bother? First, because God, long ago, decreed that man should earn his living by the sweat of his brow.

Why bother? There is a deep satisfaction in saying, "This, with God’s help, I have done." There is a joy in seeing the work of your hands come to harvest, whether it is in watching your bank account grow or seeing the garden you planted produce beautiful tomatoes and cabbages.

Why bother? Because there is dignity to honest labor, something which we deprive people of with government handouts and programs that emasculate men as bread winners and family providers. The free handout often does more psychological damage than good, even though it may help meet physical need. There is an answer to the question, "Why bother?" An important one. - Resource Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Tomorrow Begins Today is available in bookstores nationwide. For more information, write to Guidelines Philippines, Box 4000, 1284 Makati City or e-mail box4000@ guidelines.org. Visit our website www.guidelines.org.