Wow! Kind of takes your breath away, doesn't it? Not a lot of ambiguity in that rule. "You don't work, you don't eat." For a religion based on grace, it seems a bit unyielding.

You would expect that rule in our ever-productive society. After all, it seems that our worth is determined by how much we can produce. Therefore, we judge others on how much (or how little) they are contributing. But is this really the way we ought to proceed in our faith? Should productivity be the measure by which we decide whether or not a person is deserving of food?

I grew up in a family that could not stand idle time. They originated the saying, "Don't just sit there — do something!" It was most apparent when one of us got the flu. When one of us got sick, we were handed a sleeve of saltine crackers and a l…