“and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you.”
– 2 Thessalonians 3:8
I came across a street vendor on the footpath, who struggles everyday to earn for her family’s living. A basic model to her business is that there are individuals who lend money to her so that she is able to buy sale-able goods. At the end of every month, she would return the principal money with interest if required to the money-lender, and the remaining money becomes her hard-earned salary for the month.
This is a model of one among many people who are economically struggling and many who find a space on the footpath struggle hard to raise their economic need. I cannot fathom the hardship and struggles life must have given them, yet at the same time in awe of their resilient activities and the joyous hope that is always radiant on their faces.
In the second letter to the Thessalonians we see, Paul writes to people who are pre-occupied with the second coming of Christ and many are filled with fear of it and some have even quit working because the day seems imminent. Paul admonishes such understanding and instructs Christians to be watchful on the future as well as on the here and now.
In the same manner, we often are caught up in the clouds waiting for the future glory and being indifferent to the issues at present. There is a binary construct of withdrawal from and co-operation with the world. These notions of withdrawal and co-operation is resolved with Paul’s consonance of future to the present and vice versa. Looking at the clouds waiting for the lord’s second coming, we fail to see the many Christs on the footpath.
In the footpath, vendors manifest Paul’s exhortation in Christ Jesus to work quietly and earn our own living (vv.12). They acquire a feasible space for a better standard of living. The people in the footpath are willing to work hard. There is a sense of dignity and honor of the hard work and effort they put along. But, owing to capitalism, they know that they do not have a fixed space entitled to them and their perennial source of income is uncertain.
The state of perfect happiness of heaven is yet far for them. However, for them, heaven seemingly is when they are able to provide through their hard work for their family and the generations to come. The footpath is a space for advantageous living and economic resilience. Although “unprivileged,” the people “do not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it” and with “toil and labour work day and night” (vv. 8).
So, while several people who can afford fixed-spaces will be benefitted, the rest will be searching for a resilient space in the footpath or elsewhere. This reminds us that the footpath is the epistemic point in finding God. It is there where God acts along with the struggles of the people. It appropriates the present struggle with a potential hope for the future.
Prayer
Gracious God, we pray today for those who work for their living in the footpath. May they find the strength and courage in You as they struggle daily. Help us to be gracious and generous to contribute in ways that we can for their betterment. In Jesus name. Amen!
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Author: Samkupar Swer
About the Author: Samkupar hails from Shillong, Meghalaya. He is probationary pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Shillong. He earned his Bachelor of Divinity from John Roberts Theological College, Shillong, and is completing his M.Th. in Christian Theology from NIIPGTS.
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