2 Thessalonians 3: 11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.
At the end of the 2017-18 NHL season the Vancouver Canucks lost their superstar brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin to retirement. They combined for 2,107 points in 2,630 games over 17 seasons. This was a huge void to fill for the new-look team in the 2018-19 season, who now is one of the youngest teams in the league. I am impressed when I read about athletes making smart choices, especially when they are still relatively young, and an article about the Vancouver Canucks intrigued me. Bo Horvat, a young center playing for the Canucks, revealed in an interview that their players had banned video games on the road. “Balancing time between work and video games is a struggle, no matter who does it—even, apparently, for professional hockey players in the NHL. According to Bo Horvat, a 23-year-old center playing with the Vancouver Canucks, players have decided amongst themselves to ban video games for the upcoming 2019 NHL season, which starts tonight.” [i] “In my opinion, there’s better ways to spend your time on the road.”, added Horvat. The team hopes that players spend time bonding and getting ready for the night’s game.
Recently I met a man at a party who had been drafted to the NHL, but only played as far as the minors. He told me that he was just a step below playing in the big league, but he could have played a number of additional years in the minor leagues, making some reasonable money. But his comment to me was interesting. He said it was a dangerous place to be: “young guys with money and way too much time on their hands; it was just a recipe for trouble”.
As with anything that would seem to be “common sense”, there are usually scriptures in the Bible that state a similar principle, perhaps in the Proverbs or elsewhere. In regards to idleness there are numerous proverbs such as: “The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.” (Proverbs 21:25); or “The sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” (Proverbs 13;4). In today’s scripture passage, Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica and he warns the church of idleness.
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us….11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. (2 Thessalonians 3: 6,11-12)
Student athletes often have greater success in life because they live structured lives. When you are getting up at the crack of dawn to work out and then off to school for the day, homework at night and then in to bed early because you are exhausted, there is little time to get yourself into trouble.
Do you have spare time on your hands that you are perhaps not using effectively, or worse, it’s leading you to sin? Why not ask God to show you how you can effectively use that time for his glory? We are told that: 10 …we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10). Ask God to reveal those good works, then commit to doing them.
[i] https://gogame.com/2018/10/pcgamer-nhl-team-bans-video-games-on-the-road/
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