26 August 2020

We were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you.
From 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-10, 16-18 (NRSV)

One danger of thinking that the Day of Judgement was just around the corner – as some early Christians believed – was that people were inclined to wonder whether it was worth starting anything. Is it worth planting grain if the Lord will come before harvest? Is it worth starting to build that stable if there is no chance fo any livestock living in it? Once such an attitude takes root, people lose motivation to do anything. This is what Paul is warning against. Yes, the Lord may come tomorrow but that does not mean I neglect the duties of today. Or, as Martin Luther put it, ‘Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.’

• • Does the Second Coming offer an excuse for doing nothing except wait for it?
  • When have you found yourself unwilling to start something that you knew needed doing but could not find the motivation? What helped to get you going?

If you have a job that you have been putting off, give serious thought to motivating yourself to completing it today. GIve thanks if and when you do!