You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. —2 Timothy 2:3–4
In an age where the focus of much of the church seems to be on improving life experiences, many have lost sight of the fact that hardship is part of the Christian life. Sadly, in the church today, many are being taught how to avoid hardship instead of how to handle it.
Part of the battle in this life deals with becoming entangled in the affairs of life. Paul warned Timothy not to do that. As he explained it, no good soldier entangles himself in the affairs of life, but instead remains focused on pleasing his enlisting officer, who, in our case, is the captain of our salvation, Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:10). Life’s destiny and purpose are all about pleasing Him, not ourselves.
Life is about His exaltation, not our accumulation.
It is easy, however, to become entangled with the affairs of life if we begin to listen to things in conflict with the plan and purpose of God. We have all seen pictures or footage of a fish or other animal trapped in a net or snare. The net or snare is the animal’s only focus, and all the creature’s energy is spent on trying to get free. Paul warns us to avoid this altogether by not getting entangled in the first place, lest the entanglements begin to consume us.
How do we do this? It always begins by remembering that this world is not our home and that nothing in this life is worth having at the expense of pleasing our captain. The Christian life is the best life there is, and the best life is also filled with enduring hardships that may be as simple as living unentangled. Most traps involve the use of bait to attract a specific animal. What bait does Satan use to entangle you? You can easily identify it by considering the thing you just cannot live without, other than food and shelter, of course. This is the thing that says something about who you are, and this is your most likely point of
entanglement.
Be careful of entanglements. If you are not, they will consume all your time and energy and rob you of the privilege of pleasing the Lord!
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