No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
2 Timothy 2:4 NIV
As a young man, I spent six years in the Navy. So I can relate to the message of this verse and the need to be pleasing to a commanding officer. During that six years, my primary obligation was to the Navy. Most days, I had some time to do what I wanted. But I was always on call. Any plans I might make for my free time were secondary to what the Navy might call on me to do. My commanding officer would not take kindly to my failure to report as expected because it conflicted with something else I had planned.
And what was true of my time in the Navy is also true in my service to God. I am indeed his child, a loved member of his family. But I am also expected to serve him, being faithful to him as my Lord and God. He is my commanding officer, and I am in his service. Serving him should be my highest priority. Always seeking to do what will win his approval. Not to earn my salvation. But simply because it is what I should do.
Too often, we are satisfied with giving God a tithe of our time, money, and energy. And then think that the rest is ours to do with as we choose. But God is not satisfied with anything less than our all. Surrender to him all that you are. Don’t let the appeal of this world keep you from the life you are called to live—a life in step with the Lord of all creation. Be what you were created to be.
