I know a Christian is required to work (I Thessalonians 4:11), but since it says “laboring with your hands” doesn’t that mean only manual labor?<\/p>\n\t
There are several passages which command Christians to labor.<\/p>\n
The question is: “Do these passages restrict the type of employment to exclusively manual forms of labor?” The words used by Paul in these passages refer to hard work or heavy labor, but physical labor is not the only type of hard work that exists.<\/p>\n
Preaching is a form of heavy labor. In\u00a0I Timothy 5:17, Paul states that elders are worthy of support, “especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching<\/em>.” The word translated “work hard” is the same one that is used in\u00a0Ephesians 4:28. Good preaching and teaching is hard work(II Timothy 4:5). Paul invested a lot of effort preaching in various congregations (I Corinthians 15:10-11) and he did not want to find out that his hard work was in vain (Galatians 4:11;\u00a0Philippians 2:16). As a result, even though preaching is not physical labor, a preacher is worthy of monetary support (I Corinthians 9:1-14). Note especially verse 14, “Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel<\/em>.”<\/p>\n Similarly, the role of an elder within a congregation is also considered work (I Timothy 3:1). As Paul told the Thessalonians, “we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake<\/em>” (I Thessalonians 5:11-12). Again, this is why an elder is worthy of monetary support (I Timothy 5:17-18).<\/p>\n What about other occupations which involve more mental effort than physical efforts, are they considered work as well? Take a look at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The servants given talents went out and traded to gain more talents (Matthew 25:16). The word “traded” in\u00a0Matthew 25:16 is the same word used in\u00a0Ephesians 4:28,\u00a0I Thessalonians 4:11, and\u00a0II Thessalonians 3:10\u00a0and translated as work. It appears that investing is a form of work.<\/p>\n “The New Testament utilizes\u00a0kopiao<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0kopos<\/em>\u00a0to describe hard work, the pains of labor and strain — both physical and mental.” [The Complete Biblical Library: The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary] The New Testament commands that Christians work hard to support themselves. Often that work will involve physical activity, but it is not exclusively physical labor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I know a Christian is required to work (I Thessalonians 4:11), but since it says “laboring with your hands” doesn’t that mean only manual labor? Answer: There are several passages which command Christians to labor. Ephesians 4:28\u00a0“Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[105,103,104],"class_list":["post-583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-employment","tag-labor","tag-work"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38179,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-gambling\/","url_meta":{"origin":583,"position":0},"title":"Notes on Gambling","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Quick wealth is dangerous Proverbs 20:11 \"An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.\" Proverbs 28:19-20 \"He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88871,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-be-a-thief\/","url_meta":{"origin":583,"position":1},"title":"Don’t Be a Thief!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Johnson via\u00a0Seeking Things Above, Vol. 6 No. 2, May 2025 Ephesians 4:17-32 is one of many passages in the New Testament that describe the transformation that is supposed to occur when a person becomes a Christian. The Bible tells Christians to put off the old man, i.e., our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/thief-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29146,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jamaica-patois-wisdom-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":583,"position":2},"title":"Jamaica Patois Wisdom – Work","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant The Jamaican Patois dialect is colorful, unique, and humorous. It is my desire to share some of the philosophy shown in this mix of colorful phrases that are witty as well as thought-provoking. I hope the readers both profit and enjoy. In my quarter-century plus of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14080,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-takes-effort\/","url_meta":{"origin":583,"position":3},"title":"It Takes Effort","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: II Thessalonians 3:6-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How many of us truly enjoy working? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I, like many of us, dream of times when we can take a moment off and do nothing in particular \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yet, I don\u2019t like to be idle for long. It grates on my nerves. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the beginning \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52834,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-am-i-having-financial-struggles-even-though-i-serve-god-through-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":583,"position":4},"title":"Why am I having financial struggles, even though I serve God through ministry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why am I having financial struggles, even after I chose God first and serve Him through ministry rather than a secular job? Answer: True preaching has never been known to pay well. While there were times Paul received enough financial support to focus completely on the preaching of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2544,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-commands-to-work-directed-to-men-only-or-both-men-and-women\/","url_meta":{"origin":583,"position":5},"title":"Are the commands to work directed to men only or both men and women?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding the wording of I Timothy 5:8 and II Thessalonians 3:10: First, I Timothy 5:8: \"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.\" In the context\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}