THE GOOD FIGHT

Sometimes the hardest part of our day is resisting the urge to click the snooze button and making the choice to put our feet on the floor to start the day. We dread getting out of our cozy bed. It’s moments like this where we question “Why do I even have to get up?”. We wonder “What would it hurt if I just laid in bed all day”.

While it’s very nice to have a lazy day every once in a while, we are called to do so much more than binge watch Netflix and snack on popcorn and candy all day. Every morning that we wake up is a blessing from our Creator. So why are we taking our lives for granted when there is Kingdom work to be done? It’s not that God wants us to busy ourselves, but he wants to give us purpose. He has called every person of every age to give up selfish and lazy ambitions to pursue hard work and passion for His righteousness. In 1st and 2nd Timothy, while in prison, Paul uses his faith to instruct young Timothy on what he should go preach while he is at Ephesus. In Paul’s letters to Timothy, we learn that each day is a chance for us to fight the good fight in which Paul has instructed young Timothy and us, as Christians, to do.

“Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 TIMOTHY 6:12

You might be wondering, “What is this war we are supposed to be going to fight”? And, “Who are we fighting against”? This fight is an everyday battle to resist the devil, pursue righteous endeavors in our walk with Christ, and to witness the good news to others. We can’t do any of these things from the comfiness of our bed or couch. This fight is ongoing in which we must persevere through every high and low of life within our own lives and our confrontations with others.

In any war there are always two sides to the fight. In this fight there are two sides as well: Truth and false doctrine. The Kingdom of God vs. the devil. Truth will tell us that riches will only satisfy earthly needs and do not lead to Heavenly pleasures. However false doctrine is fueled by hypocritical liars that speak on hostility and greed. Fighting for the Kingdom of God leads to great gain while fighting on the side of the devil only leads to destruction.

Every single person is called to be a soldier for the Word of God. Every person of every age is equipped with everything they need to fight the good fight. A good soldier finds his strength in contentment and humility. A good soldier follows instructions of his commander to fight for the bigger picture. As soldiers of Christ, our bigger picture is the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Join with me in suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” 2 TIMOTHY 2: 3-4

“For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self discipline.” 2 TIMOTHY 1:7

In this war, the first battle we are fighting is within ourselves. As soon we wake up we are faced with options. Should I have Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Do I want to wear my shirt on the floor from yesterday or do I want to actually iron a shirt and look presentable? While many of these choices do not affect us in an eternal way, there are many small battles in our everyday lives that are significant. Before we can fight the battle against the lies of the world, we must fight the battle within ourselves. The main choice we have is to make Godly choices or ungodly choices. We have to first choose if we are going to fight on the side of Truth or false doctrine. In Chapter 6 of first Timothy Paul shows that fighting for Truth leads to faith, love, endurance, gentleness, righteous, and godliness. However, those that fight on the side of false doctrine are led to envy, strife, malicious talk, suspicion, and constant friction.

The second battle we are fighting is against the world. In his letters, Paul commands Timothy to steer the church away from false doctrine and to direct them to the truth. In our battle against the world, we are to have the same intentions. The whole point of the good fight is to build the Kingdom of God. It is to keep our Faith in Christ while spreading it to those around us. To win this fight we must bring truth to the battle. Paul tells Timothy to not be discouraged by his youth, but to set an example through his actions, speech, conduct, faith, purity, and love. Paul warns Timothy he should not neglect his gift or conform to laziness, but go to war for the Kingdom of God everyday.

Behind every good army, is an even better leader. To our luck, we have the greatest commander of all: Lord Jesus Christ. In every battle, whether it is within ourselves or with the world, we have Him to look upon for instruction and guidance in how we should fight for the further glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Paul commands Timothy to teach Christians to “… live peaceful and and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of truth.” 1 TIMOTHY 2:2-4

HOW TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT:

• Pursue God through prayer and thanksgiving
• Carry out good deeds to those around you
• Teach and rebuke those that are unlawful
• Be content and without greed
• Resist false doctrine and the devil

But how do we fight the fight if we don’t even go to war? There is no way to win the battle within ourselves or within the world if we do not wake up and choose to fight. The Kingdom of Heaven will not be able to win and rejoice if it’s soldiers are not pouring everything they have into the fight. I urge you all as you go throughout the rest of your day and remainder of your week that you dive into 1st and 2nd Timothy to see what Paul teaches Young Timothy. These instructions are applicable to every person of every age so they will then be able to fight the good fight.

Stop hitting that snooze button. You are called to fight the good fight. We have the instructions on how to win the battle. We have identified the enemy. We have the greatest commander of all time. It is time to put on the armor of God and fight for the Kingdom of God. At the end of the day, we should be able to rest our head and know that we have made the effort to fight the fight against evil within ourselves and the world. When we reach Heaven we should be able to know we fought our lives to let the Kingdom of God win just as Paul said in his letter to Timothy:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 TIMOTHY 4:7