He who does not work eats. He who does not work does not eat. He who does not work does not eat.
The famous phrase was widely used in Soviet times. In fact, the principle she expressed was borrowed from the New Testament, or more precisely, from the words of the Apostle Paul.
The famous phrase “he who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat” was widely used in Soviet times both in official politics and among the people. For example, this is the second principle of the Moral Code of the Builder of Communism: “Conscientious work for the good of society: he who does not work, does not eat.” And even earlier, this aphorism was included in the text of the first Soviet constitution of 1936, in its 12th article: “Work in the USSR is the duty and matter of honor of every citizen capable of work, according to the principle: “he who does not work, does not eat”... »
In fact, this principle was borrowed by the communists from the New Testament, from the words of the Apostle Paul: “If anyone does not want to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). In his second letter to the Christian community of Thessalonica, the apostle exhorts Christians to stay away from those who act disorderly and not according to the tradition which you received from us (Thessalonians 3:6). He gives himself as an example that even he, God’s chosen apostle, feeds on the labor of his own hands: “For we did not riot among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread for free, but we labored and labored night and day, so as not to burden any of you.” , - not because we do not have power, but to give ourselves to you as a model for us to follow. For when we were with you, we commanded you: if anyone does not want to work, he should not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:7-10).
It would seem that the difference between the phrases “if someone doesn’t want to work, let him not eat” and “he who doesn’t work, don’t eat” is very insignificant. However, it is not. It is no coincidence that the word “does not want” was dropped from the communist aphorism. And what is meant by the Apostle Paul is very different from what V.I. Lenin wanted to say in his article “On Hunger” (1918), where this phrase was used for the first time in Soviet propaganda.
It was May 1918, the civil war was going on. Famine was raging, and city dwellers especially suffered from it. Lenin, examining the main question - the question of bread, says that while the workers are starving, nearby we see rampant speculation in grain, which was organized by the bourgeoisie and the kulaks. He claims that the state monopoly on the grain trade is being destroyed, and this “is destroying the power of the workers, which is striving to implement the first, fundamental, radical principle of socialism: “he who does not work, neither shall he eat.” “He who does not work, neither shall he eat” - this is clear to every working person...” Lenin demands a ban on private trade in grain, as well as the strictest state accounting and control when confiscating “surplus grain” from peasants. He even calls this task truly communist, and its solution the threshold of socialism.
And here you can see a huge difference in the evangelical approach and Lenin’s. Among the communists, the phrase of the Apostle Paul has become an impersonal, categorical demand that does not take into account the inner disposition of a person, whether he wants to work or not, and even, paradoxically, whether he works or not. Now the state itself, which has become the only employer, determines who can be considered a working person and who cannot. That is, only those whom the state approves as labor units will receive wages from it and, therefore, eat.
Remember the legendary quote from the 1965 film “Operation Y and Shurik’s Other Adventures”: “Well, citizens are alcoholics, hooligans, parasites! Who wants to work today? In addition to her sparkling humor, she was also extremely relevant back then. At that time, an article for “parasitism” was introduced into the Criminal Code, and one of its first victims was the poet Joseph Brodsky, who was not a member of the state Writers’ Union and, therefore, could not be considered a poet. Since 1961, those who did not work for four months of the year were subject to criminal liability. Only housewives with children were allowed not to work. This article existed in the USSR for 30 years until its abolition in April 1991.
In any field of activity, all people can be divided into two main groups: working people and slackers. What kind of groups are these and what is their quantitative composition?
To shorten the text, I will further call people working employees, and everyone else - slackers. I ask you to understand and accept this; the correctness of these terms is not the topic of this post.
Based on personal observations and some principles tested in practice, such as Pareto's Law, we can conclude that in any society there are approximately 20% of workers, and the remaining 80% are slackers. What is Pareto's Law?
Pareto's Law or the 20/80 principle is an empirical (experienced) rule, named after the economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto, which is generally formulated as follows: 20% of effort produces 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of effort produces only 20% of the result..
How is this rule interpreted in modern business? In any organization 20% of employees do 80% of the work, and 80% of employees do 20% of the work. From these figures it is clear that each worker brings results 16 times higher than each individual slacker, but receives a salary at best only 1.5-2 times higher than the slackers, and most often exactly the same.
What do all the slackers do at work? They drink tea or coffee, weave intrigues, take long smoke breaks, chat on the phone or sit on social networks and at the same time pretend to be a hectic activity for their superiors. Their absence does not affect work in any way.
But the absence of an employee immediately becomes noticeable to many. Projects stop, clients are lost, and the organization begins to incur losses. Any boss knows that sometimes the work of an entire team rests on one person.
It’s just that there’s probably no need to force them to work at work with complete dedication from dawn to dusk. In my opinion, in the modern world there are simply too many unnecessary people.
The growth of labor productivity has led to the fact that very few workers are required for the existence of society and its some progress. Eliminating everyone else seems to be not very tolerant, and somehow not according to concepts.
Therefore, all idle people must be used somehow, providing them with conditional employment. Moreover, sometimes idle people create a feeling of their own greatness and their need and importance and increased demands, for example, “decent wages” and “good working conditions.”
Fortunately, many workers eventually understand all this injustice and, not wanting to work “for that guy,” they create their own business or go freelance. Some of these people themselves become managers, but some remain in the process of operation in accordance with the expression “he who carries, gets loaded.”
If you feel that all the work really rests on you, maybe it’s worth thinking about taking from life what rightfully belongs to you, and not wasting time, energy and health for the sake of other people’s interests?
The idea that lazy people and idle people should not feed at the expense of those who work appears quite often in human history. For the first time an expression with a similar meaning is found in the New Testament in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians of the Apostle Paul:
An expression similar in meaning was also used in Zen Buddhism. Thus, in the collection “101 Zen Stories”, containing stories that present the knowledge and experience of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers, the authorship of which is attributed to the Japanese Zen teacher Muju (1227-1312), there is parable No. 83 “He who does not work, does not eat.”
Haikujo, a Chinese Zen master, used to work with his students even at the age of 80: trimming bushes in the garden, clearing paths and pruning trees. The students felt guilty seeing the old teacher work so hard, but they knew that he would not listen to their advice not to work. So they decided to hide his tools. The teacher did not eat that day. The next day he didn't eat either, and the next day too. “He’s probably angry that we hid his instrument,” the students thought. “We’d better get them back.” When they did this, the teacher worked all day and ate the same as before. In the evening he told them: “He who does not work does not eat.”
In Russian, a similar idea is expressed by folk proverbs that are similar in meaning and structure: “If you don’t work, you won’t get bread,” “If you don’t force you to work, they won’t give you food,” “If you want to eat rolls, don’t sit on the stove,” etc. .
As the principle of the first settlements of the English in America
In the spring of 1609, this aphorism was expressed to the first British colonists in what is now the United States by Captain John Smith, one of the founders and leaders of Jamestown:
You must be guided by the law that whoever does not work does not eat (except for those who are unable to work due to illness). The labor of thirty or forty honest and industrious people should not be spent on supporting one hundred and fifty idle idlenesses.
Original text (English)
You must obey this now for a law, that he that will not work shall not eat (except by sickness he be disabled). For the labors of thirty or forty honest and industrious men shall not be consumed to maintain a hundred and fifty idle loiterers.
In Lenin's works
… “But these shortcomings,” Marx continues, “are inevitable in the first phase of communist society, in the form in which it emerges, after long labor pains, from capitalist society. Law can never be higher than the economic system and the cultural development of society conditioned by it”...
Thus, in the first phase of communist society (which is usually called socialism), “bourgeois law” is not completely abolished, but only partially, only to the extent of the economic revolution already achieved, that is, only in relation to the means of production. “Bourgeois law” recognizes them as the private property of individuals. Socialism makes them common property. To that extent - and only to that extent - “bourgeois law” disappears.
But it still remains in its other part, it remains as a regulator (determinant) of the distribution of products and the distribution of labor between members of society. " ", this socialist principle has already been implemented; “for an equal amount of labor, an equal amount of product” - and this socialist principle has already been implemented. However, this is not communism yet, and this does not yet eliminate “bourgeois right”, which gives unequal people an equal amount of product for an unequal (actually unequal) amount of labor.
In the article “Will the Bolsheviks retain state power?” (September 1917) Lenin calls this aphorism “the most important rule”:
The warring capitalist state itself gave us the means and weapons for this. This means is a grain monopoly, a bread card, and universal labor conscription. " He who doesn't work shouldn't eat“-this is the basic, primary and most important rule that the Soviets of Workers' Deputies can and will introduce into life when they become power.
In his article “How to organize a competition?” (December 1917 - January 1918) Lenin called this aphorism “the commandment of socialism”:
It is necessary that each “commune” - any factory, any village, any consumer society, any supply committee - act, competing with each other, as practical organizers of accounting and control over labor and the distribution of products. The program for this accounting and control is simple, clear, and understandable to everyone: so that everyone has bread, so that everyone wears strong shoes and tattered clothes, has warm housing, works conscientiously, so that not a single swindler (including those who shirk from work) walked free, but sat in prison or served a sentence of the hardest kind of forced labor, so that not a single rich person who deviates from the rules and laws of socialism could evade the fate of a swindler, which in fairness should become the fate of the rich. " He who does not work should not eat“-this is the practical commandment of socialism...
The popularity of the phrase was brought by Lenin’s article “On hunger (letter to the St. Petersburg workers)” (May 1918), in which this phrase was already called “the fundamental beginning of socialism”:
The bourgeoisie undermines fixed prices, speculates in grain, makes a hundred, two hundred or more rubles per pood of grain, destroys the grain monopoly and the correct distribution of grain, destroys with bribery, bribery, malicious support of everything that destroys the power of the workers, which seeks to implement the first, fundamental, radical the beginning of socialism: " he who does not work, neither shall he eat».
IN THE USSR
The Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918 contained an article obliging all citizens of the Republic to work:
Article 18. The Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic recognizes labor as the duty of all citizens of the Republic and proclaims the slogan: “Let him not work, let him not eat!”
Lenin’s phrase in an abbreviated form was included in the text of Article 12 of the 1936 USSR Constitution:
Article 12. Labor in the USSR is the duty and matter of honor of every citizen capable of work according to the principle: “ who does not work shall not eat" The USSR implements the principle of socialism: “from each according to his ability, to each according to his work.”
In a slightly modified form, this principle was transferred to the Constitution of the USSR of 1977:
Article 14. The source of the growth of social wealth, the well-being of the people and every Soviet person is the labor of Soviet people, free from exploitation. In accordance with the principle of socialism “From each according to his ability, to each according to his work”
Also, the phrase was included as the second paragraph in the “Moral Code of the Builder of Communism” - a set of principles of communist morality included in the text
Who does not work shall not eat
Who does not work shall not eat
The expression is associated with journalism in the first years of Soviet power, for example, with the words of V.I. Lenin (article “On Hunger,” May 24, 1918): “He who does not work, neither shall he eat” - this is clear to every worker.”
But such a popular formula for the atheistic years is taken from the Bible (Second Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 3, art. 10): “For while we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat.” .
Quoted: as a form of condemnation of parasitism and idleness.
Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.
See what “He who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat” means in other dictionaries:
He who eats quickly works quickly. See FOOD... IN AND. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people
Chewing Cover of issue 1 of the series... Wikipedia
To each according to his work is the principle of distribution, which, according to the views of the theorists of socialism and communism, will be established in the economy of the first phase of socialism, before its transition to the second phase of communism. The principle of distribution by labor is... ... Wikipedia
Human rights in the USSR are a complex of issues related to the implementation of human rights (fundamental freedoms and opportunities in the economic, social, political and cultural spheres) in the USSR. Most of these issues were regulated by the constitutions of the USSR... ... Wikipedia
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A historically necessary form of labor activity, specific to a mature communist. society. K. t. is characterized by: 1) the transformation of labor into an activity determined by its own. content, necessity themselves. decisions of those rising... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
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And you, young men of the Church, try to serve in all needs not lazily, go about your affairs with all honesty, so that throughout your entire life you can satisfy both yourself and the needy, so as not to burden the Church of God with yourself. Likewise, although we are occupied with the word of the gospel, we are not careless about our studies; for some of us are fishermen, others sew tents, and others are farmers, so that we will never be idle. Solomon says in one place: Go to the ant, slothful one, look at its action and be wise. He has neither a boss, nor a guardian, nor a master; but he prepares his grain in the summer, he gathers it, he gathers his food in the harvest. Or go to the bee and know how hardworking she is, what honorable work she produces; her works are used for health by both kings and common people; she is loved by everyone and glorious; although she is weak in strength, she is respected in wisdom(Prov. 6:6-... Therefore, work continually, for the vice of idleness is incurable. But if anyone does not work, let him not eat from you. For the Lord our God also hates the idle; and of those who worship God, no one should be idle.
Apostolic decrees.
Didache
for when we were with you, we commanded you this:
Let everyone who comes to you in the name of the Lord be accepted; and then, having experienced it, you will recognize it; for you must have understanding and discern right from left. If the visitor is a stranger, help him as much as you can, but he should not stay with you longer than two or, if necessary, three days. If he, being a craftsman, wants to settle with you, then let him work and eat. And if he does not know the craft, then think about it and take care to arrange it so that a Christian does not live with you idle. If he does not want to comply with this, then he is a seller of Christ, stay away from such!
Didache.
St. John Chrysostom
for when we were with you, we bequeathed this to you: if
Scripture refers to him [the ant] as the sloth, saying: Go to the ant, sloth, look at his actions and be wise(Prov. 6:6) You don’t want, he says, to understand from Scripture that working is a good deed and that one who does not work should not eat; If you don’t want to hear this from teachers, learn from the dumb. This is what we do at home: when the elders and those who are considered the best commit some offense, we often tell them to look at the zealous children and say: look, he is smaller than you, and how diligent and caring! So you too, accept from the ant the greatest lesson of hard work and marvel at your Lord, not only that He created the sun and the sky, but also that He created the ant; This animal, although small, represents a great proof of the wisdom of God. Think about how smart it is, and marvel at how God could fit such a tireless desire for hard work into such a small body. So, learn from the ant hard work, and from the bee love for cleanliness, and for work, and for your neighbors. She works every day, and works not so much for herself, but for us; and it is most common for a Christian to seek benefit not for himself, but for others. As a bee flies around all the meadows to prepare a meal for another, so do you, man: if you have accumulated money, use it on others; If you have words of edification, do not bury them, but offer them to those in need; if there is any other excess, be useful to him who needs the fruits of your labors.
To the people of Antioch.
Many often engage in rigorous research about those in need, question them about their country, lifestyle, morals, occupations and physical health, reproach them and demand from them many explanations regarding their health. That is why many of the poor appear mutilated in their bodies, in order to convince us of our cruelty and inhumanity by the sight of this misfortune. In the summer, although it is cruel to reproach them for this, it is not so, but in the winter, during the cold, to be such a ruthless and inhuman judge and not show them any leniency for doing nothing, is not this the height of cruelty? Why, you may say, did Paul give the Thessalonians such a law: He who doesn't want to work, don't eat (2 Sol. 3:10)? So that you, having heard this, would turn Paul’s words not only to the poor, but also to yourself, because Paul’s commandments apply not only to the poor, but also to us. I will also say something difficult and unpleasant; I know that you will be angry, but despite this, I will say it, because I am not saying it to insult you, but to correct you. We reproach the poor with idleness, which often deserves an apology, and we ourselves often do things that are worse than any idleness... So, when you say: what shall we say to Paul? - say this not only to the poor, but also to yourself. On the other hand, read not only his threat, but also his condescension, because the apostle, saying: He who doesn't want to work, don't eat, added: But you, brothers, do not lose heart in doing good.(2 Sol. 3:13) .
About alms.
St. Caesarea Arelates
for when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat
Someone may say: who is able to think all the time about God and eternal bliss, when all people have to worry about food, clothing, and home arrangements? But God does not command us to abandon concern for this present life, commanding through the Apostle: If you don't want to work, don't eat (2 Sol. 3:10); and the same apostle says about himself: labored and labored night and day, so as not to burden any of you(2 Sol. 3:8) . And if this care, which the Lord specifically commanded, is not joined by either stinginess or greed (the usual handmaidens of voluptuousness), then any work, any concern should truly be considered righteous. If only these activities do not grow to the point that we have no time left for piety, it is written: “Worldly hardships made them unhappy.”
Sermons.
St. Feofan the Recluse
for when I was with you, I bequeathed this to you, because if anyone does not want to do it, let him eat
The disorderly brethren had their second motivation to live in order in the exact commandment personally given by the Apostle himself. The example could still be reinterpreted, but the direct commandment was obligatory, eliminating any possibility of evasion. The commandment imposed a duty, the example disposed to fulfill it, indicating the way, or leading to it, as if along a paved road. Both together should have a victorious effect on the correction of morality, which was previously crooked. Both are used by the Apostle. And a strong example is given, and the commandment is proposed in a very strict tone: whoever doesn’t want to do it, let’s do it below. He wants to say: there is no reason to feed him bread, he loses, as it were, the right to eat food, and if he eats, it is without any right, but either through his own impudence, or through the mercy of others. This is the extent to which work is obligatory! A man is born to work, just as a bird is born to fly (Job 5:7). So it was awarded immediately after the fall. Labor is a penance common to all, imposed on everyone in Adam: by the sweat of your brow shall you bear your bread(Gen. 3:19) Under the condition of sweat, bread is given to him to eat. So, labor, whether physical or spiritual, is inevitably obligatory for everyone. The Apostle does not dismiss anyone from him. Whoever does not want to work, no matter who he is, whether rich or poor, below yes yast, even if he eats, he eats with violence of conscience, with sin. Meanwhile, however, one should not lose sight of the fact that the Apostle’s word is addressed here to idle sloths, in order to disturb their conscience, and not to others, in order to stop their charity. He has the wrong idea: don’t let him eat. He does not give this trial and punishment to anyone. On the contrary, he speaks directly against this below, so that while doing good, you should not suffer the cold that is given to parasites (verse 13). Theodoret writes: “And this: below yes yast, The Apostle said not to those who give, but to those who live in idleness. In a few words he gives advice to those who give, not to look at bad behavior, but without a doubt to show their characteristic generosity.”
The second epistle of St. Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, interpreted by St. Theophan.
St. Ephraim Sirin
for when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat
So, if you needed a role model, that was us - if you needed a word, we spoke, if you needed a message, we wrote, that whoever doesn't want to work shouldn't eat.
Commentary on 2 Thessalonians.
Sschmch. Onuphry (Gagalyuk)
If someone doesn't want to work, don't eat
Non-believers maliciously direct these words of the holy Apostle against the servants of the Church of Christ, telling them: you are parasites, you do not engage in physical labor... There is only malice here, but no truth. First of all, every priest physically works a lot, from morning to night, and even at night he has no rest. After all, he performs the services of God in the morning - Matins, then Mass, in the evening - Vespers, at least six hours a day; then numerous demands, of which burial is very difficult: in snow, mud, rain, he walks to the cemetery for at least a mile, and in other places several miles. At night he may be required to see a patient, and he cannot refuse. The service of a priest is no less physically difficult than the service of a doctor. Why doesn’t anyone throw such a serious accusation at doctors as parasitism? Because every doctor is a hard worker, and the same hard worker as a priest... But the ministry of a priest is much harder than that of a doctor or any other public worker. An Orthodox shepherd contains in his soul the life of his flock: he is sick with their needs, sufferings, torments of faith, moral life... In worries about the spiritual salvation of his flock, he does not sleep at night and often cries, grows old before his time, often dies from infection during admonitions... The Good Shepherd He lays down his life for his sheep! You will say that there are not many of them. Let us answer: but they exist. True, not everyone is like that, but not all doctors, not all other workers are at the height of their position.
In defense of the Christian faith. Reflections on selected passages of Holy Scripture.
Blazh. Augustine
for when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat
So, first of all, we must show that the blessed Apostle Paul wanted God’s servants to perform physical work, which would have as its goal a great spiritual reward, so that they would not receive food and clothing from anyone, but would obtain it with their own hands. Then we must show that those Gospel commandments, on the basis of which some cherish not only their laziness, but also their pride, do not contradict the apostolic covenant and the apostolic example. Let us therefore see from what words the apostle proceeds to the words: If someone doesn't want to work, don't eat
You (προς υμάς ) instead of: with you (μετ « υμών). In the first letter the apostle talks about this condescendingly, but here it is more strict. For if he himself worked day and night, although he had no need, then how much more should others do the same.
Interpretation of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians by the Holy Apostle Paul.
St. Macarius the Great
for when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat
And if someone is sluggish in prayer, and in service or any other work carried out for the sake of the peace of the brethren, shows effeminacy, carelessness and negligence, not trying, as befits a true husband, to diligently fulfill the work entrusted to him, then (let he will hear) the Apostle calling such a person “idle.” (Pointing out that such a lazy person) does not work, but only wastes time, (the Apostle) does not recognize him as worthy of bread, saying: “He who is idle should not eat” Elsewhere it says: " God hates those who are idle; an idle person cannot be faithful". And the Book of Wisdom says: “Idleness taught many to malice”(Sir. 33:28). Everyone is obliged to bear fruit in any work done for the sake of the Lord and to be diligent in at least one (service), so as not to lose eternal life by being unfruitful.
Great message.
Lopukhin A.P.
for when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat
Here Ap. apparently quotes a Jewish proverb based on the words of V.Z. from the book. Genesis 3:19. Compare "Teaching of the 12 Apostles", XII, 3.
Explanatory Bible. Interpretation of the Second Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians.
