“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV).
2 Timothy 2:3-4 offers another characteristic quality of a God-honoring life: a Godly person avoids entanglement in anything that prevents him or her from fulfilling God’s direction in his or her life. We can turn to the following passage from the New Testament gospel of Luke to see how Jesus communicated this idea to others…
“Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’
Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’
And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God'” (Luke 9:57-62).
Much like a soldier who is serving a lengthy deployment, Jesus’ first response reminds us that this world is not our permanent home. His second reply tells us that our relationship with Christ and His agenda for our lives takes priority over other relationships. His last interaction calls attention to our need to focus upon Jesus, “…the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 11:22).
It’s important to note that these verses do not prohibit us from acting to fulfill our ordinary responsibilities and/or obligations. However, they do warn us to avoid becoming entangled in the daily routine of life to the exclusion of our relationship with Christ. The following commentary offers a useful summary of this concept…
“Does this mean that those who are in the Lord’s service should never engage in secular occupations as well? Certainly not! Paul himself worked as a tentmaker while he was preaching the gospel and planting churches. He testified that his own hands ministered to his necessities. The emphasis is on the word entangles. The soldier must not allow ordinary affairs of life to become the main object of existence. For instance, he must not make acquiring food and clothing the main aim of life. Rather, the service of Christ must always occupy the prominent place, while the things of this life are kept in the background.” (1)
(1) William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, pg. 2181-82