Therefore put on the full
armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the
belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness
in place, (Ephesians
6:13-14)
The function of the
breastplate is to protect the chest or heart. For us, the heart is considered
the seat of the emotions, but at the time that Paul wrote it, the heart was the
seat of the will. Loving God with all your heart wasn't about feelings, it was
about making good, firm choices that were based on that love.
What protects our hearts,
our wills? It is righteousness. It is right behavior. Build the habit of doing
what is right so that you don't have to
decide. Decide to do what is right because each time you do something wrong, it
exposes your heart a little, and a little more, to the enemy. Here's an amusing
and minor example of this. I like to play what I call "motivational games."
In the winter if I'm up north, I have a
contest with the plow guys that they know nothing about. If I don't get out
there right after they go through, they get a point. If I do get out there, I
get a point. I usually "win" for the winter. I was missing that in
the south this winter, so I finally hit on this idea of putting people's papers
closer to their doors, so they didn't have to get their feet wet or dirty to
get them. If the person in the trailer or RV caught me, the park gets a point
for the day. If not, I get the point. I've discovered a problem with this game:
a lack of defensive moves on my part. Even if a person is standing outside, I
still have to move their paper, to give
it to them. It's not right to snub them to get a point. The park got 2 points
last week for that reason. I think I'm going to have to find another game but
keep moving the papers.
Here
is something to consider. There are times when people do things that we believe
are wrong. Sometimes, they are terrible things. We respond with the idea that
they deserve our hatred in whatever way we might choose to express it. What
that person did is wrong, so no matter what we do to punish him, we're right
and it's justified. Put aside your justifications for a moment. Think about
what you are allowing your heart to learn to do. Think about the habit you're
developing. Forget about what that other person has done for a minute. Is your
behavior righteous? Who is your hatred helping? What benefit are they getting from
your wrath?
I'm not suggesting that the
person who does something terrible does not need to be stopped, does not need
to be corrected, or even that he does not need to be killed. Any of those
things might be a necessary result of what he has done. That's a separate
issue. What are you doing to yourself? What are you doing to those you love?
What are you doing to that terrible person? How different is it, really, from
what they have done. In your anger are you being as evil or more evil than he
is?
For that matter, consider
what you are doing when you watch TV, go to the movies, play video games, etc.
I have a friend who played a video game in which she was driving a car. I don't
recall the details, but for some reason, she would back up at corners. One day
when she was driving her real car, she found herself backing up at a corner. These forms of entertainment might
not be "real" but they can teach us habits. What are you learning
from what you watch? This is the reason I stopped watching sitcoms. I noticed
that they all seemed to focus on insults and ridicule. I began to notice that
my own humor was similar and I felt convicted about getting my chuckles by
attacking someone else. It's an area that needs work in my life, but I have
been trying to make sure that my breastplate is securely strapped in place and
that I don't leave openings that will allow my heart to be taught bad habits.
There's something else to
notice about the breastplate. It protects the chest and heart, not the back. We
are protected as we stand and face the enemy. We are protected as we move
forward, as we act on our will to do what is right. We are even protected if we
are pushed back or encounter opposition. We are not protected when we turn to
run away.
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National Freedom Day - Anniversary of Lincoln's signing 13th Amendment,
Birthday of
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