Expositor's Bible Commentary 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 one “serving as a soldier” gets entangled in the affairs of this life. The soldier must lay aside all secular pursuits, and the Christian minister must be willing to do the same. “His commanding officer” (lit., “the one who enrolled him as a soldier”) is Jesus Christ. When Christ enrolls us as full-time soldiers in his army, we should seek to please him by giving ourselves to his service without distraction.