2 Timothy 2:6
It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
Nursing school is no joke. As many of you know, this past summer I began my journey in nursing school. While I expected it to be a challenge, I didn’t have an accurate idea of why it would be challenging or in what ways it would be challenging. After surviving the first semester, I can now confidently say that the challenges lived up to their hype– it was (and is!) very difficult! However, as difficult as nursing school is, heading into it I knew one thing that you don’t have to be in nursing school to learn. If you work hard, study hard, and do what you need to do when you need to do it, you can succeed. And conversely, if you cut corners, don’t pay attention, procrastinate, and disregard instructions, you can expect to not do well. Work hard and you win. Live in laziness and you lose.
In the past couple of weeks, we’ve explored two analogies and derived two principles from those analogies that help us understand the characteristics of a steadfast, suffering soldier. Firstly we saw, don’t be derailed by distraction, but have the missional focus of a soldier. Secondly we saw, don’t be disqualified because of indiscipline, but have the rule-shaped regimen of an athlete. Today we explore the third and final principle which helps us understand what it means to be a steadfast, suffering soldier.
Paul says in verse 6, “It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.” In other words, Paul is encouraging and exhorting us and Timothy: don’t get less because of laziness, but have the hard-working dedication of a farmer.
Farmers are known for being hard-workers. While new technologies and modern equipment have made the profession far less physically labor-intensive, historically farming was one of the most physically strenuous and demanding professions. And in addition to requiring long hours of labor, the work of a farmer is ordinary, unexciting, and repetitive. Unlike the soldier’s thrill in battle and the athlete’s buzz in competition, the farmer’s work consists of waking up, working long and laborious hours doing mundane tasks, and then doing it again. Large crops don’t grow overnight, so farmers are required to work on fields that fail to provide the immediate satisfaction of a job well done. It takes weeks and months of patient, hard-working dedication before the farmer can reap the fruits of his labor. To be a farmer requires a patient kind of dedication that few possess.
However, for those who do exert that rare, patient dedication, for those who do put in the work day after day and week after week, sowing patiently and intentionally, they will reap in due time (Gal 6:7). Unlike the sluggard who has nothing to reap because he put in no effort sow, (Prov 20:4, 24:30-31), the farmer gets first dibs from the best selection of the crops. Because he sows well, he reaps well. Because he works hard, he wins big.
What then does this mean for the Christian walk? As always, the intentional selection of Paul’s analogy greatly influences the direction of our application. And though this passage could be interpreted as a Biblical warrant for pastors being paid and receiving “the wages due the worker”, I agree with one commentator in concluding that this isn’t Paul main emphasis in this passage. In this passage, Paul is talking about a general principle of working hard in life and ministry. The Greek word for hard-working used in this text, kopiaō, speaks to a strenuous kind of toil and an intense kind of labor. In other words, Paul is telling Timothy the attitude he needs to have towards his work. Instead of getting less because of laziness, Paul is encouraging Timothy and us to work hard so that we can win big.
John Stott, in his commentary on 2 Timothy makes one application from this passage of hard-work in holiness. He quotes from one of my favorite books, Holiness by J.C. Ryle, where Ryle says, “Anything that requires exertion and labor is entirely against the grain of our hearts. But the soul can have “no gains without pains.” (Ryle, Holiness, pg 42.) In other words, we need to work hard at being holy. To reap the harvest of holiness, we must labor at sowing seeds through spiritual disciplines. (which we talked about last week!). Though we don’t work hard in spiritual disciplines to earn our salvation, part of the reality of sanctification is that the extent of our input determines the amount of our output. If we fail to invest in our holiness, we ought not be surprised when we see no or little growth. If we sow few seeds, why would we expect much fruit? As J.C. Ryle said above, our souls can have no gains without pains. To see gains in godliness we have to patiently and consistently sow seeds like a hardworking and dedicated farmer.
“Anything that requires exertion and labor is entirely against the grain of our hearts. But the soul can have “no gains without pains.” (J.C. Ryle)
To see gains in godliness we have to patiently and consistently sow seeds like a hardworking and dedicated farmer.
One other application John Stott makes from this passage is the harvest of converts in ministry. For those of us not in full time ministry however, I would extend the application to meaning the fruit of our influence in the lives of those around us. Do we work hard at inviting others into our lives for formal and informal discipleship? Are there people who are direct beneficiaries of our labors of love? Or are we lazy with our love? While Scripture is clear that true growth ultimately lies in the sovereign hand of God (1 Cor 2:6), it is equally clear in Scripture that God gives growth through the toils and labor of his faithful servants. Though God ultimately makes the plant sprout, I don’t think it is a stretch to say that God will fail to bless those who are lazy in sowing seeds of intentional and sacrificial love. The parable of the talents show us that God intends for us to be hard-working stewards of the time, talents, and treasures that we have been entrusted with. (Matthew 25:14-30, 2 Tim 1:6). God takes the little the lazy have and gives it to those who will actually invest and increase it! (Matt 25:29). Thus, the principle mentioned earlier has full Biblical warrant and weight. Paul, in his effort to exhort us to be steadfast, suffering soldiers, says, don’t get less because of laziness, but have the hardworking dedication of a farmer!
2 Timothy 2:10-13 says, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” These verses are a fitting ending because they both remind us of one of the reasons why we ought to toil, labor, and work hard (for the salvation and spirituality of others), while also reminding us that all outcomes ultimately rest in the unwavering faithfulness and steadfastness of our glorious God. For even in our bouts of laziness and seasons of spiritual stagnation, God still moves, still works, and still expands his kingdom. And in light of this unchanging reality, may we strive to be missionally focused soldiers, regimented and disciplined athletes, and hardworking and dedicated farmers to the glory of God and good of others. Oh God, help us to faithfully endure suffering for the sake of the glorious gospel! Amen!