Idle, Fainthearted, or Weak?

Jan. 26

Read: 1 Thess. 5:12-28

The Idle, Fainthearted, and Weak

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all…” (v.14)

Can you think of a more daunting task than “be patient with them all”!?! This word of God paints this straightforward picture of our lives lived out together; and God ends with the call to be “patient with everyone” in the process. As we walk through life each day, what a refreshingly simple list that also reminds US of what we need as well. Think about it…

“Admonish the idle” -

The truth is that there is no time for laziness in the kingdom of God. There IS time for “sabbath” and there is time for “rest” and “recreation”… BUT “idle” laziness is off the table. Even when we are resting… we are resting with intentionality… with “purpose”. In this sense we are not”idle” and doing nothing; far from it. The Greek term here was used to describe “a person who doesn’t show up for work”. Do you and I “show up”? Are we there when it is time to work? Do participate in the work of the Kingdom or do we wander off and avoid work? When we live our lives doing what God tells us to we are never idle. This is why the “idle” among us must be admonished! Not celebrated. Not enabled. Not having excuses made for them… but being “admonished”. Men and women of God are “active” … they are “un-idle”… they are “doers” who do what the Lord is calling them to! May we not be afraid to call each other out when we see one another wasting our lives and being “idle” for the Lord.

“Encourage the fainthearted” -

We all need moments of encouragement. This term “fainthearted” is powerful really… it translates literally into “small-souled”. Have you ever felt like your soul was shrinking? Slowly “dying” within you… getting smaller and smaller? To be “fainthearted” is not really a physical matter of being tired as much as something deeper within us… immaterial… this is a failure of purpose, meaning, joy, and peace. This is what we feel when we want to “quit”. The children of God are NOT quitters. We desperately need one another for those times when we feel like our soul is shrinking and we want to quit! We should be seeking t encourage each other whenever we can; reminding one another of the hope, purpose, and meaning we have in Christ. Sometimes we will need to carry on another - literally and figuratively - when our brother or sister has lost all heart. This is what it means to encourage the fainthearted.

“Help the weak” -

It is not only the “soul” that can become weak… it is also the body. We ALL hate to admit our own weakness… no one likes feeling like they can’t do something. To be a part of the body of Christ is to “help the weak” among us. When someone cannot do what they need to do - then we hop in and do it for them. This is “showing up for work” … or being “anti-idle” as we mentioned. Help someone carry groceries, pick up the kids, make them dinner, fix their car, mow their lawn, doing REAL WORK with and for one another. This is helping the weak. There are those among us you cannot do it on their own. There are those among us who are not YET strong enough but will be someday… in the meantime we HELP THEM in their weakness. This is NOT celebrating weakness or promoting it… but rather standing in the gap while a brother or sister needs help. We “help the weak” among us… looking out for the “least of these”. (cf. Acts 20:35; Rom. 15:1etc.)

To do this will take PATIENCE. It is not easy. In fact, it can be quite annoying at times… not always annoying… but sometimes a real pain in rear! God calls us to be patient with everyone as we admonish, encourage, and help. He reminds us that WE ALL have our OWN MOMENTS of needing to be admonished, encouraged, and helped. This call to patience helps press back against the temptation to “repay evil with evil”. (v.15) The way of the Christ followers is culturally opposite of the world; we do not repay evil with evil, but rather we seek GOOD for all. When we are living this way, it makes available to us the opportunity to “rejoice without ceasing”. When we treat each other this way it stirs up this sort of “rejoicing” among us. We begin to pray more and give thanks. (cf. v.18) Every circumstances becomes a chance to rejoice, pray, and give thanks because we are either given a chance to do the work of the Lord (living with purpose) OR we are the recipients of correction, encouragement, and help! Either way we have reason to be prayerful, thankful, and rejoicing. In this way the work of the Holy Spirit FLOWS among us and we do NOT quench it. (v.19)

What a powerful way to end a book! So brothers and sisters,

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it!” This is the work of God in US. Love you guys. - JDP