What does 2 Thessalonians 3:13 mean?

In this verse Paul acknowledges that most of the Thessalonian believers were doing well. They were doing what was right, but they needed to maintain that effort, in spite of the fact that some were falling short. Paul exhorts them not to become burnt out, frustrated, or exhausted from doing good, resulting in becoming tired "of" doing good.

The Christian workers at Thessalonica might have been enticed by the example of those who were idle. As long as we live in a fallen world, we'll feel the temptation to ask why we should work hard, when others just sit back and take it easy. Paul had the same message for the churches of Galatia. He wrote in Galatians 6:9: "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

It is important in our service for the Lord that we do right, regardless what others do. We need to recognize that we are individually accountable to the Lord. As Paul wrote to the Romans: "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12).

This temptation is not reserved for those who are new, or weak, in the faith. It seems Demas, one of Paul's coworkers, spurned the missionary life with its hardships in favor of an easy road. Paul wrote that Demas had deserted him because he loved the world system (2 Timothy 4:10).