6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

14If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Here is the reason why I don’t want to turn in to an enabler to certain friends. I have two friends who take in over 2 grand a month from social security disability. They always seem to come up short almost every month on cash. They live rent-free. But they are substance abusers. They won’t tell me, but my family and I are certain they are abusing alcohol. In fact, a good friend called me and assured me that she went over there and drank a large amount of alcohol with them. She assured me they were alcoholics like herself. She wouldn’t lie about that. My mother also went over there and she assured me that my one friend was drinking in the morning. She has a lot of experience with detecting alcoholics because her husband, who has passed on (died) from alcohol abuse, gave her much insight as to who is drinking and who is not. I am not going to give people money to drink their lives away. I might give them some free food, and make them dinner, but that’s about it. They refuse to work. They won’t lift a finger and take any of the jobs they were offered. My bible says that “the man who won’t work, won’t eat.” These people won’t work but they get thousands of dollars a month from the government and live in a house rent-free! They can work and should work, but they won’t. The buck stops here! I did let them borrow money, and ever since, I continue to get phone calls from them asking me to make all kinds of purchases for them. They want to put it on my credit card. But they won’t work! When I helped them once, they kept on and on asking me for money. Then when all my other friends find out, how do you think they feel that I only helped them? And they are alcoholics. I cannot put myself in a position to be a bank to all my friends. That’s not fair to me. And since they are substance abusers who will not work, I can’t help them destroy their lives by enabling them to continue to drink. There is a fine line between helping, manipulating and enabling and some people just don’t know the difference. I can, and I won’t help people destroy their lives.