• Believers in Paul’s day were quitting their jobs and just waiting on God since Paul taught that Christ could come back at any time.
• They wanted to live off the generosity of the church.
• Paul told them they needed to be working while they waited.
• Paul gives a great principle here:
• There are times when we have the “right” to do something but we always have the “responsibility” to do the better thing.
• For him he had the right to live off support.
• But he forfeighted that right for his responsibility to teach them how to not be beholden unto anyone.
• Paul placed responsibility above rights.
• When your right collides with your responsibility then let your responsibility win.
• If we lose our “rights” we never lose our responsibility to do what’s right.
• The only way you’ll do this is to focus on others and not yourself.