John Calvin Commentary 2 Thessalonians 3:12

"Now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." — 2 Thessalonians 3:12 (ASV)

Now we command such. He corrects both of the faults he had mentioned—a blustering restlessness and withdrawal from useful employment. Accordingly, he exhorts them, in the first place, to cultivate repose—that is, to keep themselves quietly within the limits of their calling, or, as we commonly say, “sans faire bruit,” (without making a noise.). For the truth is this: those who apply themselves to lawful employments are the most peaceable of all, while those who have nothing to do cause trouble both for themselves and for others.

Furthermore, he adds another precept—that they should labor, that is, that they should be intent on their calling and devote themselves to lawful and honorable employments, without which human life is of a wandering nature. Hence, this third injunction also follows—that they should eat their own bread; by which he means that they should be satisfied with what belongs to them, so that they may not be oppressive or unreasonable to others.

says Solomon, Drink water from your own fountains, and let the streams flow down to neighbors (Proverbs 5:15).

This is the first law of equity: that no one make use of what belongs to another, but only use what he can properly call his own. The second is that no one swallow up, like some abyss, what belongs to him, but rather that he be beneficent to neighbors and relieve their indigence by his abundance. In the same manner, the Apostle exhorts those who had formerly been idle to labor, not merely so that they may gain a livelihood for themselves, but also so that they may be helpful in meeting the needs of their fellow believers, as he also teaches elsewhere (Ephesians 4:28).