soldiers

I don’t know how it is now, but when I was in the Guard we had to be very careful about political involvement. We couldn’t do anything that would suggest military support of a certain person or idea. If we chose to get involved somehow, we would never do so in uniform, and would make very clear any time we spoke that we weren’t representing anyone but ourselves.

There were very good reasons for that. The military mission of national security is a critical one, requiring full commitment no matter what’s going on in our various capitols. Not only could we not afford the distraction of politics, but we couldn’t allow any partisanship to weaken our resolve to follow the orders of the national command structure. Also, it was important that confidence in our constancy was high no matter who was in office.

I was reminded of that period of my life this morning when I read 2 Timothy 2:4: “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” This is a true statement, which makes it an excellent analogy.

Paul was using soldiers as an example of exemplary discipleship. He was making the point that our focus on obeying Jesus should be as single-minded as a soldier’s determination to follow orders.

In that context, I don’t think I’m doing as well soldiering for Jesus as I did when I took the king’s gold, as the saying went. Then I was very clear about the boundaries, and it was a matter of professional pride always to honor them. By contrast, I think that often when Jesus checks on me he finds me completely distracted by worldly affairs.

Success in my career and personal goals are distracting by themselves, but often I jump into one side or another of a political or church or community controversy. There are ways to do these things that will advance the cause of Jesus, especially if my words and actions are notably loving and considerate. But I think to often what I do is shaped by our culture’s focus on winning arguments instead of friends.

Am I sometimes absent from my post as a Christian soldier? As serious as it is to go AWOL, I’m afraid sometimes that’s exactly what I do.