2 Thessalonian 3: 6 - 10, 16 - 18
6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you,
8 we did not eat any one's bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you.
9 It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate.
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let him not eat.
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Psalm 128:1-5
1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
5 The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!

Matthew 23:27-32
27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like white washed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30 saying, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

If we were alive in the 1860's would we have fought against slavery. If we were alive in the 1960's would be have been fighting for civil rights or equality in the genders. This seems to be what Jesus is telling us about. Times change. We weren't round back then, so can we really judge them. Can we really say we are so much better than the people that did things we think are so wrong now. I don't think we struggle enough with this question. If you know anything about history, you realize that the masses usually don't know what is really going on. For the most part the masses are usually uneducated and blind to what is actually happening in the world. How many Germans knew about the holacost. You would probable be surprised. Most Germans probable did not like the Jews and discriminated against them, but the actual extermination was not common knowledge. The bad things a country does are not usually the fault of the common citizens. Know that I say that, I think that is the case most the time. But not in our country. If you have a king or a dictator, the everyday person has absolutly nothing to feel bad about when the ruler decides to do something wrong. In our country, we elect our leaders. If they do something wrong, we all must bare a share of the responsibility. Now I don't know where I am going. I guess what I got from the Gospel is not to judge actions taken by those in the past because we do not understand them or their situation. I guess you can say the same for people living anywhere else outside the United States. But really can't you say the same about the person living across the street or across the hall.