Work with Your Own Hands

Kevin Phillips in his recently published American Theocracy, states, “We can begin by describing the role of religion in American Politics with two words: Widely underestimated.” Religion and politics are incredibly intertwined in the U.S., as they were in Europe before the foundation of the U.S.; and, that influence has been overlooked by the Establishment. Yet, George Gallop, the famous pollster, said, “religious affiliation remains one of the most accurate and least-appreciated political indicators available.” (Potts, Clifford A. Radicals, Religion, and Revelation. 1th ed. Dallas: WordTechs Press, 2008. 5-6. CD-ROM).

Radicals, Religion, and Revelation was written, from 2004 to 2006, as an exploration of various religious expression within the context of the US culture of the last decade. This chapter is included because it touches on the background expounded upon in Conspirators, Confederates, and Cronies.

Cliff Potts -- May 28, 2014

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A word From Saint Paul

However, as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, KJV)

In this passage, Paul is telling the Church at Thessalonica to “study to be quiet,” do their own business, and work with their hands. He is not calling them to confront unbelievers, to question the state’s authority, to place themselves above the social standards, or even to define the social standards. He is charging them to study and work, presumably as artisans, so that they can “walk honestly toward them that are without, and that they may lack of nothing.”

Walk Honestly

What was Paul writing about when instructing others to “walk honestly?” This is what I have found:

• “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22, KJV) 
• “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.” (Romans 12:17, KJV) 
• “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.” (Romans 13:13, KJV)

Pulling it Together

It seems obvious that the religious right, the squeaky wheel of the Christian community, is in violation of their own instruction manual. They seem to have their own version of Jesus. They demand that you accept their version or go to hell. However, this is not at all what Paul told his followers. His instructions include the following:

• Study to be quiet 
• Work with your hands 
• Walk honestly 
• So you want for nothing
• Abstain from evil 
• That you are seen as honest by all men 
• Not to riot 
• Not in wantonness 
• Without strife or envy 

Unfortunately, this is rarely what we see. We see fundamentalists condemning those who choose to be different from them. We see them with worldly desires. We see them grasping for power, striving to gain advantage over others in proclaiming that the U.S. is a Christian nation. Moreover, in doing so, they are acting as if they do not have to answer for their actions to anyone outside the finite narrow corridors of their limited world, and even more limited view. That is not what Paul required of the followers of Christ.

The Big "If"

If these men and women were truly filled with Christ’s love and blessings, perhaps they would not have to strive so hard to force compliance to their point of view. Instead, they would live the life as instructed by Paul, and become examples of the faith in Jesus Christ like Paul. If Christians cannot live by the example and instructions given by Paul, their religion’s de facto founder, it seems unfair for them to demand, by the force of law, that those who do not share their brand of faith live as they would like.