By: Obed Pineda
“No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2nd Timothy 2:4)
Roman general Vegetius wrote in his book, Epitoma Rei Militaris, “Si vis pacem, para bellum.” Translation: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” Scholars believe that the general’s expression was inspired from his woe that the Roman soldiers had become latent in their military training since peacetime had endured longer. He observed that the quality of their military might had quickly denigrated, compromised by presumption and complacency. They arrogantly presumed that because of their rich history as the most dominant military force in the world, there would be no country who would dare face them on the battlefield. This overconfidence fed their hubris so much, that the Roman soldier would no longer wear his protective armor, exposing him and making him vulnerable to an imminent attack. Therefore, Vegetius was urging his brothers-in-arms to use these times of peace to further strengthen their armies to be always ready to hold off any attempt at invasion. He also believed that maintaining a robust armed forces during peacetime could deter anyone considering to launch an attack. Essentially, the general’s advise concludes that if peace is to be preserved, one must be prepared to go to war to defend it. Consequently, the apostle Paul coincides with this frame of thought as he also warns, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1st Corinthians 10:12, emphasis added). The apostle’s cautionary words to the church at Corinth mirror his words to his beloved Timothy as quoted above. It is to be noted that in both periscopes, the immediate context exhort the reader to stand firm against the trials and temptations of life. In his Corinthian epistle, the inspired apostle brings to memory Israel’s lack of self-control “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1st Corinthians 10:11b, emphasis added). In his letter to Timothy, he firmly instructs that he “must endure hardship as a good solider of Jesus Christ” (2nd Timothy 2:3, emphasis added). Thus, it is undeniable that Holy Writ aims to ingrain in the Christian’s mind the precious value of always being prepared, constantly reiterating “Watch, therefore, for you do not know when the Master of the house is coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning – lest, coming suddenly, He find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch” (Mark 13:35-37, emphasis added)! The Lord’s emphatic plea reveals the true threat conformism poses to the Christian. Many great soldiers of the cross have fallen prey to this lethal, invisible predator. Observe that Jesus compares spiritual complacency to sleeping. The accuracy of this analogy leaves no room for misinterpretation, especially when it is corroborated with the infamous example of Samson (Judges 16). Like the Roman soldiers described earlier, Samson had been ensnared by self-conceit, relying on his physical strength and neglecting to grow spiritually. The blessing that Jehovah God had bestowed upon Samson, was polluted by Samson’s lack of control over his carnal lusts in women and vainglory. His failure to grow spiritually led him to abuse the blessing that God had gifted him, and eventually shifted his focus from heaven to himself. Although Samson warred often against the enemies of Israel, he was at peace with his true enemy; himself. This judge lost sight of the Divine warning, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Proverbs 16:18-19, emphasis). For Samson, the latter part of this proverb reflects in his poor judgment when choosing a wife. Even though his parents made the attempt to dissuade him from marrying a woman from Israel’s enemy, the Philistines, Samson’s sole justification for marrying the woman was “she pleases me well” (Judges 14:3). Needless to say that this union did not end well for Samson (Judges 14:10-20), but he tragically did not learn his lesson for “it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah” (Judges 16:4). The Bible teaches us that thrice Delilah attempted to seduce Samson to reveal the secret of his strength to weaken him and turn him over to the Philistines, but failed (Judges 16:6-9, 10-12, and 13-14). Despite her wicked intentions being abundantly clear, Samson continued to be with her, blinded by his carnal lust for Delilah. Having no temperance and plenty of presumption made Samson a victim of his own device. Holy Writ declares that “she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength had left him” (Judges 16:19, emphasis added). Samson’s haughty spirit and reliance on himself rather than God took him down an obsidian path where he was mercilessly humiliated by his enemy (Judges 16:23-25).
Remember that these lessons from the past have been preserved by the Holy Spirit “for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4, emphasis added). Thus, Samson’s cautionary tale unveils that a Christian’s most lethal foe is his old man. It does not matter how many external strongholds a Christian is able to bring down with Scripture if he does not first conquer himself. It is our duty to always keep in our mind’s eye that “the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Galatians 5:17, emphasis added). This truth is what the Redeemer illuminated as He espoused “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched” (Mark 9:43, emphasis added). The Lord emphasizes His lesson by stating the same in regards to the foot and the eye (Mark 9:45, 47), but it must be understood that He was using a hyperbole to illustrate a point; not condoning nor promoting asceticism or self-mutilation. Christ’s lesson is expanded by Paul in his example of the good soldier (2nd Timothy 2:3-4) and of the athlete preparing to compete for a crown (1st Corinthians 9:24-27). The good soldier and athlete represent self-discipline displayed by self-sacrifice. Thus, Scripture is teaching that a good Christian is he who remains focused on the eternal by abstaining from all the earthly things that will interrupt his spiritual focus. The Lord is urging His disciple to be prepared to go to war against himself if he wants to preserve the peace with God. Therefore, to defeat our flesh in battle, Holy Writ proclaims, “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2, emphasis added).