Charles Spurgeon Commentary 2 Timothy 2:4

"No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier." — 2 Timothy 2:4 (ASV)

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

So Timothy, as a Christian minister, is to act as the Roman soldier did. It was a law in Rome that no soldier was to plead in court for another as a lawyer, or to act in business for another as a bailiff, or to have anything to do, while a soldier, with either farming or merchandise.

And so it should be with ministers of God who strive to expound the Word, and every Christian indeed, though involved in common things, should take care that he not be entangled by them, nor be caught, as it were, as game is entangled in a net. There is a way, you know, of making the actions of common life subservient to the purposes of divine grace. This is the Christian's business; let him take care that he not be entangled with the cares of this life.