As he did in his first Thessalonian letter, Paul wraps up his second letter with a series of imperatives (exhortations). In this case, Paul’s imperatives are concerned with warning the Thessalonians to be on guard for those who are consumers, or who are lazy, and for those who will not obey the instructions that the apostle has given. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Paul gives an emphatic command for the Thessalonians to keep away from “every brother who is idle and does not live according to the tradition you received from us.”

The word translated as “idle” can mean “disorderly.”[1] In this context, it probably refers to those who do not live up to reasonable expectations–people who disappoint us by making promises and never following through on them.[2] In light of the questions about the Lord’s return (parousia) put to Paul by the Thessalonians, it is possible that these individuals cause chaos in the church because they do not obey the teaching, and were refusing to do any work to support their brothers and sisters because they were convinced that the second coming was at hand. These are people who can be described as “so heavenly-minded, they are no earthly good.” But in light of what Paul says in verse 10, we can identify laziness (the dreaded “sweat allergy”) as the true problem—“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

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