Be Patient With Everyone

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Paul's final instructions begin with the people who work among the church, care for it in the Lord, and admonish it. The Thessalonians are asked to acknowledge these workers and hold them in highest regard because of their work.

The reason is their faithful labor for the church. Paul joins respect for these workers with a call for everyone to live in peace.

Then Paul gives four different responses for four different needs. Admonish the unruly. Encourage the fainthearted. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone. The list assumes that people do not all need the same thing. A person disrupting the community may need a clear warning. A frightened person may need courage. A weak person may need practical help. Everyone needs patience, including the person who is difficult to help.

Responding well requires understanding the need. A warning given to someone who needs encouragement can deepen discouragement; comfort without correction can leave destructive conduct untouched. Patience is needed in every response.

Paul then says no one should repay evil for evil. The church is to pursue what is good for one another and for all people. Paul pushes the church beyond private restraint: seek another person's good, including the good of those outside the circle that feels safe.