A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.
3 sermons cite this verse
… about the soldier and the athlete and the farmer. Hear then from 2 Timothy 2, verses 1 to 7. You then, Timothy, Paul says, my child, in the faith, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. That's so good. Strengthened by grace. and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Maybe you've heard that verse 2 as we've talked about D groups for the fall. At least the D group leaders. Verse 3, 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. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Let me pray for our few moments in God's word. …
I hope I have made it clear, by these instances, what is meant by Christian self-denial. If we have good health, and are in easy circumstances, let us beware of high-mindedness, self-sufficiency, self-conceit, arrogance; of delicacy of living, indulgences, luxuries, comforts. Nothing is so likely to corrupt our hearts, and to seduce us from God, as to surround ourselves with comforts,--to have things our own way,--to be the centre of a sort of world, whether of things animate or inanimate, which minister to us. For then, in turn, we shall depend on them; they will become necessary to us; their very service and adulation will lead us to trust ourselves to them, and to idolize them. What examples are there in Scripture of soft luxurious men! Was it Abraham before the Law, who wandered through his days, without a home? or Moses, who gave the Law, and died in the wilderness? or David under the Law, who "had no proud looks," and was "as a weaned child?" or the Prophets, in the latter days of the Law, who wandered in sheep-skins and goat-skins? or the Baptist, when the Gospel was superseding it, who was clad in raiment of camel's hair, and ate the food of the wilderness? or the Apostles, who were "the offscouring of all things"? or our blessed Saviour, who "had not a place to lay His head"? Who are the soft luxurious men in Scripture? There was the rich man, who "fared sumptuously every day," and then "lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments." There was that other, whose "ground brought forth plentifully," and who said, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;" and his soul was required of him that night. There was Demas, who forsook St. Paul, "having loved this present world." And, alas! there was that highly-favoured, that divinely-inspired king, rich and wise Solomon, whom it availed nothing to have measured the earth, and numbered its inhabitants, when in his old age he "loved many strange women," and worshipped their gods. …
Next, cast all your cares on God because you will have matters enough to think of even then/There are sacred cares which the Lord will lay upon you because you have cast your care upon Him. When He has broken your painful yoke, you will have His easy yoke to bear. There is the care to love and serve Him better, the care to understand His Word, the care to preach it to His people, the care to experience His fellowship, the care to walk so that you shall not vex the Holy Spirit. Such hallowed cares will always be with you and will increase as you grow in Grace. In a sense, we may cast even these upon God, looking for His Holy Spirit to help us, for it is He that works in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure—yet not without our care and zeal does He operate upon us—and this is one reason why you are not to allow lower ends and designs to inundate your mind. Your spirit has another vineyard to keep, another capital to put out to interest, another Master to please and it cannot afford to yield its thought to meaner pursuits. Ministers are shepherds and must care for the sheep! "The hireling flee because he is a hireling, and cares not for the sheep." But you have the care of churches laid upon you daily, and it is peculiarly necessary that you should not be occupied with carnal care. And, next, you must cast your care upon God, because you have God's business to do. It is a dangerous thing for a merchant to employ a man who has a business of his own, because sooner or later the master's business will suffer, or else the man's own concern will die out. "No man that wars," says Paul, "entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier." There is sure to be a clashing of interests when a Brother goes into business, unless he does it as Paul did—that he may not be chargeable to the Church—for then he attains to double honor. Paul carried his needle and thread with him wherever he went, for everybody had a tent in those days, and he was ready for work at any moment either upon small family tents, or tents to cover a great assembly. When he had finished preaching, he could turn to mending tents and so earn his own living and preach the Gospel freely. Paul did not make his preaching a stalking-horse to his trade, but he made his handicraft a packhorse to his ministry, so that he could say, "These hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me." That is a very different thing from a minister deserting his charge to make a larger income by some other calling. The less we have to do with other business the better, for all our care is needed by the Church. …