Over the past 100 years, the western world has developed massive government welfare programs in which the government provides subsidies for housing costs, food, education, and medical expenses. The result is there are many people who spend years living off of government welfare instead of having a job and working to earn a living. This is often lauded as being loving and compassionate. However, the Bible makes it clear this is wrong. The Bible is very clear that people need to work and earn their own living.
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Transcript:
Over the past 100 years, the western world has developed massive government welfare programs in which the government provides subsidies for housing costs, food, education, and medical expenses. The result is there are many people who spend years living off of government welfare instead of having a job and working to earn a living. This is often lauded as being loving and compassionate. However, the Bible makes it clear this is wrong. The Bible is very clear that people need to work and earn their own living.
There are multiple passages throughout the Bible that talk about work. A couple of the passages specifically teach the necessity of working. Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about work in general. Then I’ll look at 2 Thessalonians chapter three, verse 10. That is one of the verses that very specifically teaches us it is morally wrong to live on welfare.
Let’s start with Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. This is part of the account of the six days of creation. These verses are telling us about day six.
Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
This tells us about God creating man. Notice the reason God created man. Men are supposed to rule over His creation. Men are supposed to fill the earth and subdue it. Now let’s go down to chapter 2, verse 15. This gives us some more information about creation.
Gen. 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
Yahweh created a garden and He put the man in the garden. The man’s purpose was to cultivate and keep the garden. At a very fundamental level, men are supposed to work. God created us to work and to do things.
The book of Proverbs contains a lot of wisdom. There are a couple proverbs in the book of Proverbs that talk about work. Let’s look at Proverbs 18, verse 9.
Prov. 18:9 He also who is slack in his work
Is brother to him who destroys.
Think about that statement. A man who is slack about working is destructive. This teaches the value and dignity of work.
Let’s go to Proverbs 21, verse 25.
Prov. 21:25 The desire of the sluggard puts him to death,
For his hands refuse to work;
A sluggard who doesn’t work is destructive and is killing himself. We can take this literally. If a person does not work, and is not earning a living, raising crops, and tending his animals, then that person will not have food to eat. If a person doesn’t have food to eat, he will die.
We can also take this figuratively. People on welfare might be living physically because they’re getting food from the government, but they’re killing themselves figuratively because living on welfare is a destructive lifestyle. Welfare destroys dignity and self-confidence. People who refuse to work are figuratively killing themselves.
Let’s look at an opposite thought in Proverbs chapter 22, verse 29.
Prov. 22:29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.
If a person is very skilled, he will be recognized and lauded for his skill.
Let’s go to the New Testament. Paul wrote about work several times in the various letters he wrote. Let’s look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 11.
1Th. 4:10b But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.
Paul reminded the Thessalonians that he had commanded them to work with their hands. In 2 Thessalonians Paul went into this in more detail. Let’s start reading at chapter 3, verse 6.
2Th. 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.
There’s a very clear command here. If someone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat either. People are supposed to work and earn their own living.
That means that perpetual welfare is wrong. It is morally wrong for people to spend years subsisting on whatever benefits the government doles out to them.
Unfortunately, the church has been somewhat silent on this. Christians are not teaching the destructiveness of perpetual welfare. The church in the western world is not resisting this morally destructive practice that our governments have been pushing for decades. If we as Christians want to have a positive influence on our society, one of the things we can do is teach the evils of welfare and teach and promote the value and dignity of work.
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