The Danger We Don’t See
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love adventure. What I love about adventure isn’t necessarily the risks that usually accompany it, but simply the unknown.
It’s the unknown that makes an adventure. It’s in the unknown that risk lies.
A little bit of risk is fun. Too much risk is terrifying and no fun.
In life there are many risks that are worth taking, but there are some risks that should never be taken. The greatest risk that should never be taken is living your life in ignorance of God’s Word.
Someone might say, “Is it a risk to not know the Bible?” You bet it is. For instance, I consistently learn from the Bible how to serve God in ways that please Him and I also learn what a life looks like that’s not pleasing to God.
But most people live in ignorance of what is pleasing to God and simply take the unnecessary risk of living their life how they think best and hope that in the end what they have done has pleased God.
Take this Scripture as an example, 2 Timothy 2:4 –
4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
Paul is comparing the Christian to a soldier here. Most specifically, he’s teaching the young preacher Timothy how to live a life that is pleasing to God. The analogy he uses is that of a soldier who lives to please his commanding officer, which in the analogy, is Christ.
But look at what we learn from this verse – Active soldiers, in other words, Christians, don’t get themselves “entangled in the affairs of everyday life.” And Paul says that a Christian doesn’t do this “so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”
So if I want to be please Jesus, and I do, I need to understand what Paul means when he says, “entangled in the affairs of everyday life.”
It’s not hard to understand, but it’s a hard teaching. The reason why it’s a hard teaching is because Paul isn’t saying that if you want to please Jesus you won’t get caught up in a life lived in sin. That’s true, but that’s not what Paul is saying.
What he’s saying is that if you want to please Jesus, you won’t allow your time to be consumed with things in this world that have nothing to do with eternity. What makes this such a hard teaching is that Paul isn’t talking about things that, in and of themselves, are bad or sinful things. He’s simply referring to ANYTHING that you can get involved in that takes up your time but doesn’t serve any kind of eternal purpose.
So the question is now, “How do I know if I’m entangled?” You have to answer that for yourself, but allow me to help by asking a question. When you observe your life and examine what you spend time doing, how much of your time is spent on activities that serve an eternal purpose?
Be stingy and selective with your time. Don’t commit yourself to so many worldly activities that you have no time remaining for the things of God. And don’t deceive yourself into believing that because the activities that you’re involved in aren’t sinful that they are, therefore, pleasing to God.
Don’t be entangled in the things of this world. Get entangled in the things of the world to come. Live to please your commanding officer. Show Christ you love Him with how you use the time that He’s given to you.
Much Love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
