What comes to mind when you think of a good soldier? Perhaps the words competent, brave, or obedient come to mind. Let’s see how the Apostle Paul defined a good soldier,

Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:3)

The phrase “suffer hardship” (συγκακοπαθέω) literally means to suffer hardship with others.  The root of this word is to undergo hardship and to endure afflictions. This same Greek word occurs earlier in this epistle and is translated “suffering”,

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, (2 Timothy 1:8)

A good soldier, and a good Christian, realizes that suffering is a primary part of the job description.  We must lay aside the comforts of every day life so that we are pleasing to our commanding officer.

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)

How would you evaluate the North American church – would you say that we’re good soldiers? For many it seems that we’re content with our Christianity as long as we can remain comfortable. Christianity is fine but don’t let it interfere with my time and cause me to be inconvenienced or overworked. Brene Brown admonishes us, “You can choose courage, or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both.”

The North American Church is a reflection of our society that unfortunately has become soft. Charles J. Sykes chronicles the problem in 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School: Real-World Antidotes to Feel-Good Education.  Here is a sampling (see my Blog post 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School for the entire list).

“Life is not fair – get used to it.” Many people feel victimized.  The problem is the more time you spend complaining about your situation, the less time you have to change it. There are more people living on entitlement programs than ever before in the world’s history. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown chronicles how nine working-class boys from the American West beat the elite colleges of the East and went on to the 1936 Olympics in Germany.  This rag-tag team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, overcame incredible odds revealing the grit they had learned through adversity.

“The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem.” The truth is life is difficult. You are going to get your feelings hurt whether you like it or not. There will always be one person who is better at something than you and your child are. There will always be dangers, no matter how much padding or protective gear you wear.

“You won’t earn $60,000 right out of high school.” You must realize becoming successful is going to take time and effort. If you truly want to become successful, you’re going to have to go beyond the 9 to 5 mentality. 9 to 5 is for civilians but a good soldier must be willing to pay the price.  If you want set hours, go work at McDonalds. At the recent Global Leadership Summit,  John C.Maxwell said, “Anything worth having is an uphill climb. The problem is people have uphill hopes and downhill habits.”

“Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.” Flipping burgers is opportunity to learn. One of the biggest differences between our generation and the generations before us is that we were raised in a time when this country was thriving economically. Unfortunately that prosperity has led to a sense of entitlement.

“Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not.” Years ago, you won a trophy or a ribbon for excelling at something rather than for just showing up. Gone are the days where awards are based on achievements, because society believes that awarding those who excel hurts the self-esteem of those that do not.

Leonard Ravenhill relates the story of Bakht Singh as he described the church in India vis-a-vis the church in America,

The indigenous churches in India have a great burden for America just now….and are praying that God will visit your country with revival…. Your feel sorry for us in India because of our poverty in material things. We who know the Lord in India feel sorry for you in America because of your spiritual poverty. We pray that God may give you gold tried in the fire which He had promised to those who know the power of His resurrection….In our churches we spend four or five or six hours in prayer and worship, and frequently our people wait on the Lord in prayer all night; but in America after you have been in church for one hour, you begin to look at your watches. We pray that God may open your eyes to the true meaning of worship.

Do you know the true meaning of worship?  It’s not about you and your comfort – it entails suffering a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  Oswald Chambers gives us a helpful perspective,

Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. (My Utmost for His Highest, May 16)

May the words of C.T. Studd help us to be a good soldier of Christ Jesus, “If Christ be God and died for me, then nothing can be too difficult for me to do for Him.”

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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