Entangles Himself

II Timothy - 2:3-4
"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."

     This is where we as Christians and soldiers defeat ourselves.  This part of the passage reads, “…No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life…”  Read the end of that section again..."this life"  

     Other than serving our Lord & Savior, what else in this life matters?  I would fear to see a true survey of how many people actually put the glorification of Christ as #1 on their list.

     We claim to be Christians, but do we really act like it?  The truth is that the vast majority of us are so consumed by things of this life that we forget about our spiritual life.  Things like Sports, TV, Jobs, Possessions, Money, Music, Dating, Games, Entertainment, Education, Hobbies, have become our idols.  These are the things of this world that we have been distracted with.  By no means is this small list exhaustive. 

     Using shallow analogies like games, sports and schooling, you cannot be effective if you can’t concentrate on what you are doing.  Likewise, how effective do you think a soldier would be in the middle of a battle if he was daydreaming about something else?  How long would he last on the frontlines if distracted?

   The same principle applies here with spiritual warfare.  We cannot be distracted with the things that do not matter.

     Our enemy is trying to distract us with the affairs of this life.  Let’s face it, most of our top priorities are likely things such as our wealth, education, social status, success and/or personal gratification.  Very few of us claim, let alone live, like the glory of Christ is our number 1 goal.

      All of us are guilty of being entangled in the affairs of this life.  We have life-goals that pertain only to this life.  All of us make major decisions in our life without consulting our Lord for His input.

     It almost seems as though we want God to be a Genie in a Bottle for us.  We want to live our life as we want, but have Him grant our prayers upon request...If He doesn't, we threaten in our hearts not to let Him out of the bottle any more.  (This is the part where we develop even more of a selfish attitude and turn our back's of God, because we don't get our way when we should be seeking His way.)

     We are living for the here and now when we should have an eternal perspective.  Other than the spreading of the Gospel and growing in Christ, nothing else really matters in this life. 

     The awards, the money, the degrees, unless they are used to glorify out Lord, are a waste our attention and the life that God has given us.  They are prideful self-centered webs that Satan seeks to entangle us in, and he is usually successful.  We ourselves cannot untangle the mess that we are in, only by relying and focusing on God can we get out of it.  Getting untangled is not a one-time event but rather a lifelong battle. 

(1)   Endure Hardship
(2)   Soldier of Jesus Christ
(3)   Engaged in Warfare
(4)   Entangles himself
(5) Please our Commander