"The Affairs Of This Life"

The apostle Paul warned Timothy about being entangled with  “the affairs of this life” (2 Timothy 2:4). He urged Timothy not to let anything slow him down or distract him from serving the cause of Christ.

There are many attractive worldly things that we can get entangled with, such as sports, hobbies, digital games, movies, etc. These activities are not wrong in and of themselves, but they are wrong if they interfere with the purpose for which God created us — to share the “good news” of Christ (Acts 13:32-34 NIV), bringing glory and honor to Him.

If our desire is to please the Lord Jesus, we will want to stay untangled from the world (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

John reminds us that “the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets