As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.
1 Thessalonians 3:13
Have you ever worked on a group project and felt like the majority of the team wasn’t doing their part?
When I was in school, group projects were my least favorite activity. With the right team, everyone brings their whole selves to the table, complementing one another in competencies and giftings. Other times… not so much.
In business, there is an 80-20 rule. It suggests that 80% of the results emerge from 20% of the efforts. Also known as the Pareto Principle, the 80-20 rule gives leaders the opportunity to focus their efforts on the 20% that is actually producing.*
Within group work, like I experienced in school, many times 20% of the group does 80% of the work. The others seem to be along for the ride, enjoying the efforts of everyone else. It’s not ideal for the 20%. The temptation as a a part of the 20% is to quit.
In the Church in Thessalonica, members of the church had been taking advantage of others, relying upon their generosity while refraining from work.* Once exposed and dealt with, Paul needed to be sure that the generous church did not stop their efforts to help the needy.* The “good” that Paul wanted the church to continue in was helping the poor.*
How many times have you found yourself among the 20%? How many times did it feel like you were among the few doing the right thing or putting in the work? Did you quit? Paul echoes the heart of God in these words:
…do not grow weary in doing good.
Some of the hurt that we receive within the church community can produce in us a desire to withdraw. Feeling hurt or taken advantage of, we want to hide. We hide our hearts. We hide our gifts. We hide our presence. Don’t grow weary friend. God sees you, and He sees your situation. Like Paul stepping in to address the issues in the Church in Thessalonica, God is and will step in to deal with the issues in each of our communities as well.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to take a deep breath. Perhaps today God wants you to re-engage with your whole self. Maybe today God wants you to endure, not growing weary in doing good.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 274–275). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (p. 329). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (p. 353). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, p. 669). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 144–145). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 258–259). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 622–624). Baker Academic.
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