It's Not the Government's Job to Feed the Poor | S2E2

"It's not the government's job to feed the poor. It's the church's job"

That line almost always gets justified with one verse: 2 Thessalonians 3:10. In this episode, we break down what Paul was addressing in Thessalonica, why some believers had stopped working, and how this passage gets pulled out of context to shut down conversations about poverty, public responsibility, and care for the vulnerable. We walk through the historical setting, the cultural problem Paul was correcting, and why this verse was never meant to function as a blanket statement about social welfare or government involvement.

We also used an excerpt from Vining Lake Church's pastor discussing this topic. In fact, it is the reason that we have this episode today (shoutout to such a well-spoken pastor).

Thank you for tuning in to the Dear God Lettuce Pray podcast, hosted by Santana. If this show is still helpful and you want to support season two, you can contribute by making a one-time donation or become a monthly supporter for as little as five dollars, which helps cover research, production and distribution costs.

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Here are the References for today's episode:

• 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
• Leviticus 19:9
• Deuteronomy 24:14-15
• Isaiah 10:1-2
• Jeremiah 22:3
• Bruce, F.F. - 1 & 2 Thessalonians
• Green, Gene - The Letters to the Thessalonians
• Keener, Craig - IVP Bible Background Commentary
• Wright, N.T. - Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dear God Let Us Pray podcast. I am your host, Santana, and today we are gonna get into uh whose job is it to feed the poor? And I know that sounds like such a shouldn't even be a question, but I mean, hey, it's 2025, nothing surprises me anymore. All right, so a few days ago, um, I was scrolling on Instagram and I came across this video, and the comment said that it was the pastor at Lake Church. Um, I really couldn't find uh where that was located, um, but he was speaking about how people will just say it's not the government's job to feed the poor, it's the church's job. You know, like people will say this and will reference 2 Thessalonians 3 10. Now, he was speaking about how people use scripture to highlight same-sex marriage, war, immigration, abortion, death penalty, all those hot button topics, but never use scripture that talks about feeding the poor, taking care of the oppressed, you know, etc. So in the clip that I saw, I was like, yeah, you know, he said some things I agree with, but most importantly, he spoke biblical truth. And it was a topic that stuck to me, and I knew that I had to discuss it on one of the upcoming episodes. So the scripture of the hour, or should I say 30 minutes? 2 Thessalonians 3 10. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat. Now, people have taken this scripture and ran so far with it. Like, imagine hearing this scripture as a non-believer or someone that was already walking a thin line. Like, I too would run away. Because why would I want to follow a God that punishes the poor the same thing that these evil people are doing today? Like, absolutely not. But you know, the reality of it is this people will walk away from God because of how people speak for God. And that, my dear friends, is why we are unpacking this scripture today. All right now, so according to the Bible, there are some things that are often mentioned, which includes first things first, the Bible never treats caring for the poor as an optional thing. Like there were laws put in place to ensure that the poor and the foreigners were taken care of. Two, there is never any blame on the vulnerable for being vulnerable. You won't find this in the Bible. And then there's one particular thing that you may not hear often. The Bible consistently holds people with power accountable for how society treats those with less. So, like before Jesus, before Paul, the prophets, before all that, the Bible began with the law. And what did the law say? Let's check out Leviticus 19 9. When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 24, verses 14 through 15. Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or foreigner residing in one of your towns. Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and counting on it. Otherwise, they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin. So both of these scriptures, the first one is, you know, telling people not to technically maximize on profit, like leave some for those who are less fortunate. You know, when it is harvest season. And the second scripture, pay people and pay them on time. Like don't wait for the next pay period to pay somebody a mistake or pay them what they are owed. Okay, pay them on time because if not, you will be guilty of sin when these people cry out to the Lord because of you. So again, these were laws, like regulation. These were commands that were administered by civil leadership. So there was no optional charity or no private individuals deciding who deserved help. So like when Israel's leaders failed, God held the government accountable. Isaiah 10. Isaiah 10 condemns lawmakers who write unjust laws that deprive the poor of their rights, while Jeremiah 22 rebukes kings who build wealth while neglecting justice for the poor. Scripture reads, do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor, the one who has been robbed, do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin. Do you see that? Kings fall. Like even the prophets throughout the Bible get on those that spiritualize poverty. Like there was an instance when Amos, Amos condemned those who trampled the poor while maintaining religious rituals. Now, who does that sound like? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So yeah, so there's not a single prophetic category in the Bible where leaders can say, oh, that's not our responsibility. Because it is. Jesus was up and around during a time where Roman imperialism ruled. Now, this was a time where economic exploitation was both normal and brutal. But Jesus, of course, didn't care about none of that. Jesus fed crowds without asking about work ethic. He praised generosity without means testing. And he most definitely condemned religious leaders who burdened people while protecting wealth. Do you see how he was a problem for those that meant harm? Like literally, intentions mean absolutely nothing. What did actions show? All right, now stay with me. So in the early church, there was this thing where believers shared resources so that no one lacked anything. No forced socialism, no privatized charity, which is simply a community of people refusing to tolerate poverty among its members. And honestly, that's pretty admirable. So, you know, this was going on during a time where people lived in Thessalonica. Thessalonica was founded around 316 BC by Cassander and named after Alexander the Great's half-sister. Paul was around during this time, which was also when it was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. Thessalonica was a key commercial hub. It was a port city full of traders, day laborers, dock workers, rich patrons, etc. Like it was pretty much a very sharp economical system that they had, which was excellent for client-patron relationships. Well, you see, the Greco-Roman culture generally looked down on manual labor as slavish and demeaning for the upper classes, although everyone knew that the economy depended on it. Even the work that Paul did was considered slavish and demeaning, and he was a man of God. Like Paul was a tent maker and did leather work. So nothing classy. Like, you know, he wasn't driving a Lambo to his megachurch. So that pretty much set the stage. A wealthy, strategic Roman city mixed with elites who could afford not to work, and a mass of people surviving by physical labor. Like you can see right here, like there is nothing new up under the sun. Like this literally sounds like our modern day. So in the midst of all this, Paul plants a young church. And during this time, he had things to say to the people, and he even had to circle back a time or two. And that's why you'll hear about him writing letters, like the Thessalonian letters. Both letters had a repeating problem, and that was disorderly idlers. Now, just as a quick sidebar, I remember when I used to hear about idleness and God doesn't want you to be idle. And the way that it was taught to me was like, God don't want you to sit be sitting around doing nothing. Like you need to be up and moving at all times. And well, that's not what that meant, but we will get to what that actually means in a moment. But and this is why I always tell you guys, it don't even matter about church. Baby, read the word for yourself. Because when I think back on all the things I've had to deconstruct and and unlearn and get my own, you know, understanding for it's like a lot of this stuff was wrong. Especially how people are handling this scripture. But anyway, all right. So you know how every now and then you'll hear about people saying the world is about to end or like Jesus is returned or Jesus is returning. This was happening way back when, too. Back then, it is believed or argued that believers were so hype on Jesus' return, which they had believed had already happened or was happening, that they quit working. Like they assumed that there was no point in ordinary labor anymore, because you know, Jesus. Like they're not resting, preparing, no, they are refusing to work, they are living off the generosity of other believers, and they're interfering with other people's business. Like there's literally scripture that says, not busy, but busy bodies. Check 2 Thessalonians 3:11 for this. So these people are causing havoc and blaming it on Jesus' return. There's a Greek word that shows up here which I cannot pronounce, but it is defined as out of rank, not keeping formation. It's an excellent example of this would be like soldiers disrupting the line. So some have argued that some of these idle believers may have been manual laborers who discovered that living as clients of the church's charity or wealthy patrons was a lot easier than working every day. Hmm. So let's just sum it up for what it was. Thessalonica was a rich port city where there were believers who were waiting for Jesus to return, so much that a group of Christians stopped working, used spiritual language to justify it, and then expected the rest of the church to carry them. This was idleness, and their idleness was destabilizing the economy, most definitely was discouraging generosity and damaging the church's witness. Now, who does it sound like? I know you know at least two people. And they're not the vulnerable, they're not the oppressed for sure. But you know, you never hear all of this, you just hear the infamous scripture, and that's 2 Thessalonians 3:10. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat. Take note of the verbiage here, because it does matter. Unwilling. Bible thumpers and cherry pickers will take this verse and run for the hills, as you see happens often. And as with many scriptures, context matters. So, like you can't isolate 2 Thessalonians 3:10. You gotta at least read, you know, starting back at 6 through 15. Because in verse 6, 7, the problem. I'm sorry. In verse 6, 7, the problem is named. Like Paul commands the church to keep away from every brother who walks disorderly or irresponsibly. As you see, this is a family issue, this is a discipline issue. Verse 7 through 9, there's the example. Paul reminds them how him and his team were not idle, and they labored night and day so that they would not be a financial burden. They had all the right and all the support, but gave it up to model the kind of work ethic they're now commanding. This matters when people try to weaponize 2 Thessalonians 3 10, because even Paul was like, he's the one who refused to freeload, even when he legitimately could. As far as the scripture of the hour, verse 10, not willing to work, not eat. Like this is where the translation counts. The Greek language does all the heavy lifting here. If anyone is not willing to work, make sure this is like make sure you highlight focusing on refusal, not inability. The verb, I'm gonna leave this Greek word in my notes, in the show notes, is the normal word for labor, often referred to for productive manual labor. Who this verse isn't referring to. It's not referring to the disabled, it's not referring to the involuntary unemployed, the widows, the elderly, the systemic oppressed. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 addresses able believers choosing a parasitic lifestyle inside the church. Verses 11 through 12 describe the behavior. Paul says that they are doing no work at all, but meddling in the affairs of others. These are his words, not mine. So if you can see the sin here is not being poor, it's refusing to work, disrupting others, and misusing the generosity of the church. Literally, the very next verses, verses 13 through 15, are about protecting the community and the poor, but you don't hear about that. Paul tells the faithful workers, do not grow weary in doing good. As in, do not let freeloaders harden you against genuine generosity. Like the church says we should step back, step back from enabling the disorderly brother so that he feels shame and repent, but still treat him as a brother and not an enemy. So to wrap this up, Paul says that those who are unwilling to work should not eat, not those that are unable, oppressed, or vulnerable. He's addressing those who can work but refuse to, all while exploiting church generosity. Using 2 Thessalonians 3:10 to justify denying food to families contradicts Paul's own life and letters. So how or even why should this scripture be used in such harshness?

SPEAKER_00: 16:59

And I would like to pause here and I would like to say this. I want you to note how evangelicals selectively appeal to the Bible to justify certain governmental interventions like abortion, same-sex marriage, death penalty, war, militarization, immigration, and in the past, segregation and slavery. Notice how they appeal to the Bible to justify the government to intervene in those situations, but they do not appeal to the government intervening when it comes to the poor. And what I want to say to Christians and evangelicals who are using verses like 2 Thessalonians to justify not actually taking care of the poor from the level of a government, I want to say to you this. Hear me. If you are using a text written by an oppressed people to justify ideologies that are causing more oppression, you can be sure you are the oppressor.

SPEAKER_01: 18:08

Alright, you guys, that completes another episode of the Dear God Let Us Pray podcast. Again, I am your host, Santana. Remember to spread kindness, follow us on your favorite platform, leave a review, send us some fan mail, or if you would like to support the continuing season, please be sure to drop us a message. And as always, I will leave references in the show notes below if there's anything that you want to circle back to and read for yourself, which I hope you decide to. But again, another episode, and we are down to