In continuation, we’re talking about attributes of a good soldier. Today’s thoughts, I actually have two of them. The first one is, a good soldier is not ashamed to wear their uniform. If you look in 2 Timothy 1, verse 8, the Bible says, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.” Verse 12 of that same chapter says, “For which cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless, I am not ashamed.” You know, our uniform associates us with our country in the military.

When I was in the military, you’d go to foreign countries, and even their soldiers had different uniforms. It identified us with who our commander was, who our country was, who we were following. And the same thing is true for the Christian life. By the way, our uniform is to be worn properly. It’s very, very important. The buttons on our uniform have to be facing a certain way. The eagles have to be pointed a certain way. We call it a gig line, the buttons on our shirt have to line up with the belt buckle, all those different types of things. It has to be done properly. You know, the same thing is true in the Christian life. Let me ask you this. Can people identify you as a Christian because of the way we act, put on the whole armor of God? Can people say, you know, that’s a Christian? I could tell by what they’re wearing, and I can also tell how they’re wearing it. And that’s a good example.

Another one, the Bible talks about “the things that thou hast heard among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men.” Let me just say this. Another good attribute is being a recruiter. A recruiter is inviting others. I remember Sergeant Bell was the one that recruited me into the military. I saw how crisp his uniform was, how dignified he was, how sharp he was. I thought, I want that. And you know, if we’re going to be good Christians, we have to wear the uniform properly, and then we have to be willing to recruit others and faithfully give the gospel, and that’s what Paul was talking about. Let me ask you this, have you ever convinced anybody to enlist? Can people tell and identify you as a Christian by what you’re wearing, the way you carry yourselves? It goes for all of us today. Attribute of being a good soldier.

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Fred Slye

Fred Slye, Business Manager

As a single military man, Brother Slye began attending NVBC. Not long after, he was married, and in 1985 he came on staff as the maintenance director for the church. His responsibilities have varied over the years. For the past many years, he has served as the business manager, overseeing the finances for this entire ministry.