Paul could not say enough good about his beloved Thessalonians. His first thought, however, was to tell them how much he prayed for them: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet” (1:3a). The word bound here means “to be under obligation.” It is used of a man who is in debt and who has to pay what he owes. Paul used the idea behind the word when he told the Romans that he was “debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to
2 Thessalonians 1:3a