Entangled
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 2:4
Wow! This is quite a vivid picture and one worth considering for a minute. Imagine being enlisted in the military, called up to active duty. Think about how you would prepare for that. You would have your family, friends, finances, faith and fitness in order. You would be sure that there was nothing left undone in your civilian life. You would have all loose ends tied up so as not to be distracted from your full-time active service to your country. Many times when called to active duty, you are required to move out of state or even out of the country. You cannot leave any lingering responsibilities or obligations. You must be focused on your mission and you are set apart for it by moving your life to the base where you are stationed.
Imagine now if you are serving in your active duty position, but you left your family where they were with unfinished business that you were still trying to conduct. As you focus on your military mission being part of a unit working together on that mission, you are being distracted because you are still trying to keep up with managing your affairs back home. This is not going to please your commanding officer. He is going to tell you to get your head in the game or don’t come back until you can give your full attention to the job you have been enlisted to do.
Do you see a parallel in this scenario? We have been called up to active duty by our Commanding officer, the Head of the church, the Lord Jesus! We have a mission that we are assigned to. However, many of us are unaware that we are on a mission and have our focus on the concerns and cares on civilian (natural) life. We have let the distractions of activity, entertainment, pandemic and etc. become the dominate focus of our world, forgetting that this is not what pleases the One who called us.
In today’s scripture, Paul is telling Timothy to toughen up and persevere through the hard times, just like a good soldier on mission would do. When He is on His mission, he is not looking around at what he can do to fill his time. He is focused on the mission at hand and he is focused on carrying out the orders of the commander because they are on the same mission together. This pleases the commander. The more he can trust his soldiers to carry out their assignments, the more pleased he is.
Today I want to encourage you to “toughen up” and not be entangled/caught up in the cares and concerns of this world. We do live here but we do not have to have the same mind set. This is a temporary assignment and will soon be over. I don’t want to be the one with all the excuses at the end of the mission as to why the mission failed, not to mention the many lives that were lost because my heart was some place else. Become mission minded today and put away the distraction and cares of this life. Begin by settling your business with the world. Tie up any loose ends such as unhealthy relationships, debts and time wasting hobbies. Then turn your focus to getting your assignment. Spend time connecting with the “Commander” each day and offer your life up for service. Begin your training and grow into your mission by spending time in the “play book” (scripture) and make your focus to be the reason you are in this world. We are in a war here, so lets get untangled from the heaviness of life and run in the race we have been call to.
Today’s scripture reading: 2 Timothy 2:1-7
The Daily Dose 