The Military Life
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. 2 Timothy 2:4 NASB
Entangles himself– ĕmplĕkō, from ĕn (preposition—“position” or “relation”) and plĕkō (to twine or braid). Think: strands in a rope. Hard to separate. Weakened when divided. Paul’s military metaphor makes it seem as if our job is to stay away from everything worldly. Does that mean David Koresh was right? Let’s just all move into walled communities and batten down the hatches. Are we really left with just two alternatives: either slip inevitably into the world’s snarls, or follow the desert fathers into spiritual protective isolation?
How do we reconcile Paul’s exhortation with the words of his Messiah: “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[1] It is pretty hard to call sinners from inside the walls of the convent. The Messiah seems to have been purposefully involved with the dregs of society. How is that possible if he was supposed to avoid entanglement with the world? Maybe Paul is just interpreting John:
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”[2]
Alien residents. That’s what Peter calls us. Perhaps that’s the best way to look at this. We are here. We are supposed to be here (not out there somewhere). We are here because we have a job to do (tikkun ‘olam) and that job means getting our hands dirty. We are here to hear his voice among the lost, broken and downtrodden. That’s our audience. Where they are, we are. But we are surrounded by another realm, the realm of self-service, of opposition to restoration, of exploitation and chaos. We are in it, and the more we do what our leader did, the deeper we sink into the mire. But we are there on purpose, not unintentionally. Not because of drift. We know we are alien residents. Our passports are from another kingdom, but while we wait, we relate. We are soldiers in the cause, but we aren’t an army. We are guerillas, fifth columns, infiltrators, spies. Deep undercover agents of the King.
You know, sometimes it feels like we’re enmeshed, until we remember who we report to. It might look like we’re part of the everyday world, but it only looks that way. Underneath we’re serving a different purpose—and underneath is where it matters. Right?
Topical Index: entangle, ĕmplĕkō, twist, alien resident, 2 Timothy 2:4
Well said, restoration for me that’s a big deal. It helps me either stay on the path, or to get back on it. The latter more than the former. Being mixed up in everyday Church Life. Has had me confused. About a year ago, I committed my life to his purposes. Those are around me know it. Little did I know that I was following the wrong leader , he was strong , but on his own bath.. he would have let me follow him., as long as I would have let him lead. Yeshua is the Lord of Heaven’s armies, that’s the one that I have decided to follow wholeheartedly. He has made all the difference. It says grow where you are planted. Guess what, that’s right. Back to the starting place. Let’s see what happens. This visual has helped me. You take a compass. And you take a watch comic about the same size. The watch is set for one minute past the hour, the compass is at due north. If you follow the minute hand for any amount of destination. You will be way off the mark of due north. Ouch. Do you go back, or do you look to the West, to where you should be. The Lord orders the steps. Original intention. I’ve learned with the help of a few good friends. To let the Lord do the work. I must look at all the pieces of the puzzle to see the plan. Not just a piece or two that I like which catches my attention. Anyone can follow sin for a season. And enjoy it, but where will that lead in the end.
So we perhaps need to think of ourselves as ‘change agents’ inside our own communities of faith, too. Here is where every one of us is going to rub against the establishment of those communities to the exact extent that they have been modeled after the hierarchy of the world. Prepare! I am finding myself up against this very same thing. How to be “in the (church)” – Body – but not of the worldly system it is attempting to run itself on? “Call no man your master” applies here, too, after all. So exactly how do we follow the mandate to “minister” to the Body from the bottom up, like Paul describes? Hmm
Military angle is a good one, here, for me. Report to headquarters only. Assimilate but don’t follow. “Be the head and not the tail” as we have also been told to do. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Treat the wounded Body just like you would the lost homeless person you find on the street corner. Chances are, the ones you find in the church could be even lonelier, for modern church hands out SO MANY WAYS (and incentives!) to mask the fracture, I have found. Think of going to church as evangelizing (LOL). Represent how a real FREE person would act in this place. Keep the focus on yourself, as per good 12-step principles (instead of on lockstepping) works well for me. Practice separation from the world inside the church and see how long it is before you are “hauled before the magistrate” where, chances are, if you are doing a good job, anyway, you could well be given a real stage to state your case. (Brother Brett, I am following your story with interest, as well as prayer. Continue to update, please.) Witness starts at home, after all!
An awesome encouragement. I have followed Dr. Skip for many years and continue to receive true blessings from his well written encouragements and true biblical wisdom. He certainly has the hand of the Father on his shoulders. He has the unquieted ablitiy to bring to light & clarity unto God’s word. We are truly among the ‘lost, broken and downtrodden’ and for me, it is easier to run and secure myself away however, as highlighted, engagement by a untold number of methods is instructed. This maybe simply providing an example, secretly ‘coming alongside’ or going into the mission fields however, our calling leads; but, it is surely not seeking ‘walled communities.’ Yes, we are ‘aliens’ yet, are we not warriors as well? What warrior calls themselves such and continually hides from the very purpose we are commanded. The first and foremost of theses commandments is to love. Making disciples is very difficult to accomplish without engagement. Blessings, Skip. Your friendly ‘therapist.’
Thanks Ray. I need all the therapy I can get. 🙂
Here Here !! ; James Bond and the Mrs.’s here! Can’t agree with you more! We’ve been , ‘in thought’ , in and out of the world,
nice to have our working orders, from the King, confirmed!!
We all wear the unseen uniform of the heart — His heart,
which has called us to conform to His will and being, while we
are beings here among the lost and the weary.
We are active, yet still. We know His voice. We follow.
“for it is God who works in you to will and to act
according to His good purpose.” Phil 2:13
We know who we are.
And we praise Him with glory and gratitude.
How does one know they are in the correct “unit”? What if there is a shift in their “leadership” (understanding) and the mission changes?