A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. ~Proverbs 28:20
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—He wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. ~2 Timothy 2:3-7
First of all, today is Veteran’s Day. Kathy and I would like to give thanks to all those who have served in the military, laying your lives on the line for our freedom. If you know someone who has served, be sure to say, “thank you.” If you are able, it would be good to pause for a moment at 11:00 AM today to lift a prayer of gratitude for all who have served so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do today.
Also, give a prayer of thanks for Jesus who also laid down His life for our ultimate freedom from sin and death, to live with Him forever. The proverb for today caused me to think about soldiers, that is why we paired this passage from 2 Timothy with the proverb for today. True, Paul also mentions the athlete and the farmer. There is a lot we can also learn from them, but my thoughts mostly went to the soldier as illustrative for today’s comments.
“A faithful person will be richly blessed.” “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” On and off duty, when a soldier is in uniform, his or her own interests and goals are set aside. Focus is placed on the mission. Even Jesus set aside personal goals for the mission of the cross. It would have been so easy for Him to give into the temptation of a miracle to impress, just to hear a few compliments. Or, perhaps, He may have been tempted, from time to time to call down curses on those frustrating, hard hearted priests and Pharisees, as He cursed the fig tree, because those learned men made the commoner’s life so burdensome.
He stayed on mission, however, denying any opportunity for personal gain. The mission was the thing. He remained faithful to it. A soldier also stays on mission. He may receive an award when the battle is over. He may also not make it through the battle at all. Yet he fights on for the mission because his commander spurs him on to do so. If personal gain was his motivation, he would be easily discouraged and easily bought. He would betray all those around him, as Judas did, and end up being punished in the end.
Paul calls timothy, and us, to be soldiers of Christ. We need to serve as He did, staying focused on the mission, being willing to give up personal gain in order to please our Lord. We may think of ourselves as doubly blessed because, as Christians, here in America, we are also wealthy by worldly standards. So, we might think that our material wealth is the blessing of faithfulness that Solomon is referring to, but I don’t think so. The blessings that we have here on earth, will all slip away eventually. We certainly won’t be able to take our earthly blessings with us into eternity. Our richest blessing, like that of the earthly soldier, will come when the battle is won and we hear our Lord, and commander say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
When Paul advises that soldiers do not get involved in civilian affairs, many take it to mean that we are not to get involved in the politics of the day as Christians. I disagree. When Paul was writing to Timothy, the only soldiers that were visible at that time were Roman ones who were supposed to stay on mission for Rome and not be bothered by more local concerns, politically or otherwise.
The job for the soldier was to keep the peace for the government of Rome, by force if necessary. They were not there to get involved in local civilian affairs, such as deciding who would rule locally or promoting local laws and ordinances. They were the ruling authority’s enforcement arm and Rome was always to be their focus. The good of Roman interest was their top concern. The church, however, that Paul was writing to, was under that Roman authority.
In effect Paul was saying that in comparison to the Kingdom of God, Roman interests were “local” and worldly. Paul was lifting the believers’ eyes above Rome, who could only rule over them on earth, to their true authority, Jesus Himself. He was reminding them of their true mission to serve Christ. In that superior authority, they were commanded to be little Christs to the then Roman world.
To not be involved in civilian affairs means, don’t be distracted by earthly gain that you can’t take with you. Be on mission to love one another. Be Jesus’ hands and feet, and comfort those in need. Above all, make more disciples, through the spreading of the mission to others and teach them how to serve as well. Paul knew that in reality, the church to whom he was writing would never have a voice in Rome, though, in some of his writings he encouraged them to pray, whichisa voice of its own.
Paul demonstrated this himself as he witnessed to those in authority when he was brought before them, in chains, on trial. Paul was very willing to speak up for his mission in front of earthly authorities, but he knew that earthly authority was not his ultimate authority. His first allegiance was always to Christ. If the church could gain a voice, however, it was expected to speak up against injustice and promote the mission of Christ as allowed. We live in an era when we can be involved in politics. We have some small power to shape the nation’s policies. We do so responsibly as we do our best to make the laws reflect God’s will and wisdom. Since we are afforded that privilege, we do so honorably when we speak up as ambassadors for Christ.
We need to always remain faithful to our mission as soldiers of Christ. Speak when we must. Serve when we can. Always focus on what will please our commander, Jesus. We should not be distracted by earthly gain that we will lose but stay focused on what can never be taken away, our life in Christ, forever.
Prayer: Lord, God, I stand today dressed in the armor of God ready to resist the devil. I want to focus on the heavenly tasks of prayer and love and proclaiming the gospel. Strengthen me to press on for the sake of Your glorious Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: The Battle Belongs to the Lord
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