Don’t become entangled!

“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.” (2 Timothy 2:4) 

The Christian has been enlisted by the Lord, and is on active service for Him. He must not entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life. The emphasis here is on the word entangle.  

He cannot completely divorce himself from worldly business. He must work in order to provide the necessities of life for his family. There is a certain amount of involvement in everyday interests that is unavoidable. Otherwise he would have to go out of the world, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 5:10. 

But he mustn’t allow himself to become entangled. He must keep his priorities straight. Even things that are good in themselves can sometimes become the enemies of the best. 

Wm. Kelly says that “to entangle oneself in the businesses of life means really to give up separation from the world by taking one’s part in outward affairs as a bona fide partner in it.” 

I have become entangled when I become involved in the world’s politics as a means of solving man’s problems. That would be like spending my time “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” 

Or I have become entangled when I put more emphasis on social service than on the Gospel as a panacea for the world’s ills. 

I have become entangled when business gets such a grip on me that I give my best efforts to the making of money. In thus gaining a living, I lose a life. 

I have become entangled when the kingdom of God and His righteousness cease to have first place in my life. 

W.D.