There are three main areas picked up on in this chapter;
- Holiness, especially the area of sexual sin and dealing honestly in business (1 Th 4:1-8).
- Living in peace, working hard, and being welcoming to others (1 Th 4:9-12).
- How to grieve for those who have died (1 Th 4:13-18).
Looking at that list they appear to be quite specific to the situation in which the Thessalonians lived. And indeed they were. Where they lived sexual sin and dishonest business practices were common place. People would be too interested in others affairs so that they could talk themselves up and their neighbours down; that way not needing to worry about the quality of their actual labours to get on in the world. There were also very elaborate, self gratify times of mourning for the dead. People using their show of grief to further status, but also to wallow in, as they had no hope for the future.
However, they are also areas of life today which, if we as Christians approach differently, it would indeed set us apart from the world. They would make us different and enhance our ‘reputation’ as discussed earlier. I am not going to go into any great depth about these at this time but I will mention a few things that are going around in my head.
Our approach to our sexuality is an obvious one. If as Christians we do not; engage in the dating merry-go-round, we do not have sex before marriage and we make our marriages work, then we do stand out. I’m not for a second saying it’s easy but we are called to holiness. It is a request of God to treat our bodies with respect. Our holiness needs to also extend to our work practices. As employers we need to be fair; pay a fair wage, have fair expectations (often a problem in Churches were people are very willing to put in far over and above the hours for which they are paid). We need to pay our bills on time, charge a fair price for our produce, and advertise with integrity. As employees we need to work as though we are working for God. All these things are about holiness and sanctification (choosing to set ourselves apart; to be different.)
Something Gareth commented on a few months ago was not blowing our own trumpet and this is what is talked about next. Let’s be different to the world and simply let our industry and our honesty talk for itself. Rather than making others look bad so as to enhance our profile, let us build up those around us.
Finally, and trying to look at this somewhat carefully, the way in which we grieve for those who have died should be from a place of hope, not despair. The passage is not saying that grief is wrong; we know that Jesus himself grieved over the loss of a friend. This release is needed for us to heal, but we should grieve with hope because we know that Jesus conquered death and when that hope is evident in our lives his light can shine on those around us.
There are a lot of thoughts there. Hope it made some sense, what did you make of this passage?
