Wisdom's Corner
Always Stay in Rank

You have probably seen pictures of soldiers. You may have seen a movie with soldiers in it. Soldiers serve their country by fighting to protect it. They are trained to be the best at what they do. Sometimes they train very hard so that they can undergo the worst conditions and still be able to fight well.

The military has a strict set of rules. All of the soldiers must follow these rules. And there is a set protocol. This means that the lowest level of soldiers (low rank) must follow what their leader (high rank) says. And that leader must follow what his leader says. The following of protocol and rules is very important. If everyone does what they are supposed to do, then the military has a good chance of winning the battles when they occur.

But sometimes there is a soldier who decides he does not want to follow the rules or the protocol. He may decide it is not necessary for him to do certain things according to the rules. Or he may decide he knows better how to do something than the person leading him. So this soldier does what he wants to do. This is called "breaking rank."

We are called soldiers of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3). Christ is the head of our army. We are to follow His rules and regulations. We are to stay in rank with the protocols He has established to rule the Church.

He tells us that there are some who will not stay in rank. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6 we read, "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us." The word "disorderly" is the word in the greek used for not keeping rank in the military.

In the military, a soldier who does not keep rank is punished severely. In fact, in some nations he is killed. God says we are to withdraw from the Christian soldier who breaks rank. This is different than the person we learned about earlier who slipped into trouble. He is to be helped. But the soldier who purposely decides to break rank must be punished.

Study God's Word. Know what you are to do to obey God. And then obey Him. Do not break rank. Stay in rank.

Until next time, get the wisdom of God. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.

Mark McWhorter

Copyright 1999

Published by The Old Paths Bible School
(http://www.oldpaths.org)