HOW NOT TO GO TO WAR

‘2Timothy 2:3-4 KJV
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 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.

Dear Believer,

When we were kids, we loved to watch war movies. The heroic acts we saw on the screen made us want to become soldiers when we grew up. It was exciting.

I never became a soldier, but some of my mates did, and the more we grew up, the more we realized that real war was different from what you saw on TV or read in comic books.

War is bloody, destructive and devastating. The apostles used the language of warfare to describe our spiritual life. War is being constantly waged in the spirit realm and the outcome is what determines our quality of life and even eternal destiny.

Just like when we were kids being stirred up by the images we saw on television, many Believers are also being motivated by what they read in books and even Christian movies today about ‘spiritual warfare.’ Much of this is not true. This misinformation is why many Believers live casually and still think they can walk in divine power.

Paul says a Believer must ‘endure hardness.’ Many Believers don’t want to endure anything. They want to indulge their base appetites and still be strong in the spirit.

Paul says just as you cannot fight a war in the physical realm while entangling yourself in the ‘affairs of this world,’ so also can you not fight spiritually while being entangled with ‘civilian’ matters.

Believers are portrayed as warriors in the scripture. We read of ‘weapons of our warfare.’ We read of the ‘sword of the Spirit,’ ‘shield of faith,’ ‘helmet of salvation’ and so on. (Ephesians 6:11-17). We are told to ‘war a good warfare.’ (1 Timothy 1:18). We are asked to ‘fight the good fight of faith.’ (1Timothy 6:12) These are military terminologies. And that is our life as Believers.

The apostle is emphasizing here that you can’t be a warrior and lack discipline. You can’t get yourself entangled in matters irrelevant to your military course. For example, what would you think about a soldier who goes to war and carries in his backpack a television, many comedy novels, several bottles of hard drinks and then plays aloud some rap music very loudly for everyone to hear?

Many believers are into all kinds of things that aren’t helping them in their spiritual warfare. When you get involved in things that are not helping you to get stronger, you are bound to get weaker.

I call on you today to streamline your life and be a minimalist as far as your spiritual life is concerned. Live your spiritual life with only the necessary gears.

In spiritual warfare, whatever will not help you will hurt you. Things that make it easier for you to sin, or have the capacity to make you weak and sluggish, or make you forget to perform your spiritual duties must all be removed from your life.

Refuse to be entangled with the affairs of this world, and if you are getting entangled already, start the process of disentanglement straightaway.

Have a beautiful day.

Your friend,
Deon.

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