Soldier, Athlete, Farmer
3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. 5 Also, if anyone competes in athletics, he isn’t crowned unless he has competed by the rules. 6 The farmer who labors must be the first to get a share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
Three pictures of the same discipline, each supplying something the others cannot.
Endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. The three images that follow are not decoration; each answers a different objection a discouraged worker might raise.
The soldier answers distraction. No one on active service entangles himself in the affairs of civilian life, that he may please the one who enrolled him. The aim is not austerity but singleness — a soldier may own a farm, but not while deployed.
The athlete answers shortcuts. He is not crowned unless he competes by the rules. Effort alone earns nothing if the contest was not run lawfully, which is a pointed thing to say in a letter about men who handle the word deceitfully.
The farmer answers delay. The one who labors must be the first to get a share of the crops. Nothing arrives quickly, and the reward when it comes belongs to the one who did the work rather than the one who talked about it.
Verse 7 declines to unpack them further: consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. Paul supplies the images and leaves the thinking to the reader — which is itself a comment on how teaching passes on.
settled What this mark means