³Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No 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. ⁵Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

The chain of true discipleship involves hardship; that is just as true today as it was in Timothy’s time. Paul was imprisoned when he wrote this letter. Many Christians around the world today are incarcerated because of their faith; they are sent away to labor camps, beaten, and starved. But hardships come in other forms as well. Some Christians are ostracized by their families and marginalized in their communities. In general, Christians today are slandered and belittled as immoral for holding to a biblical standard of marriage and not supporting aberrant sexual relationships. Late-night comedians mock Christians for their stance on abortion as killing innocent children. The list goes on.

Living as a disciple of Jesus Christ often means redirecting your energy, time, and resources toward eternal things and not the temporary bangles and enticements of this world. In practical terms, it means living below your means, rather than stretching your credit limit to the max to buy the newest and best stuff or experiences. Yet the world and everyday life are filled with enticements and temptations that can all knock us off course from our goal of living for Christ.

Paul warns Timothy not to get entangled in the small stuff of life. The analogy of a soldier is interesting. Everything the military does focuses on winning the war. For the individual soldier, his only attention is to his commanding officer. A moment of luxury is worthless if the battle is lost.

With an illustration like that, what is the motivation to embrace hardship? Obviously, the desire to win the war is motivating in itself. But in the Christian life, that is only one analogy. Paul gives two more that help with motivation.

The first is that of an athlete who competes for a prize. He is motivated to keep the rules, to contend fairly. No shortcuts. He trains hard and he competes hard. We need not think hard to see the application for being a disciple. There is a prize at the end when we are rewarded at the Lord’s return, but we must take the suffering along the way, with no shortcuts to glory.

The third analogy is the farmer who works hard so that he might enjoy the fruits of his labor. Disciples too must work hard, suffering the difficulties of Christ-like living, and in the end, we will share in the glory of Jesus Christ.

Lord, help me work hard, accepting the difficulties, for I want to please You.