Note 12 at 2 Tim. 2:4: The dictionary defines "entangle" as "to twist together so that disengagement is difficult, make tangled, snarl" (NAHD). Soldiers have wives, families, homes and friends just like civilians, but they have a different commitment level. They have already committed to leaving it all at a moments notice. Good soldiers have these things but they are not entangled with them the way civilians are (see note 11 at v. 3).

Likewise, Christians have many of the same things and responsibilities that non-Christians have, but they must avoid being entangled with them. Jesus taught this same lesson in the parable of the sower. He said some people don't bear fruit because the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things choke the word (Mt. 13:22; Mk. 4:19; Lk. 8:14). We can have things but we must hold them loosely.