Ephesians 6:10-17
Verse 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
With a better understanding of the battle lines and our purpose for battle, we now start looking at the various pieces of our required armor, starting with the belt of truth. This isn’t a belt to hold up a pair of pants but it does help with other parts of the armor. In Roman armor it would have helped hold their garment a bit higher than usual so it wouldn’t be tripped on as they hurried into battle. In the Christian’s armor it is the foundation to all of the soldier’s needs.
The belt the Roman soldier of Paul’s time would have been a leather belt from which hung an apron like feature allowing personal body parts to be better protected from hits below the belt. It would have made him less vulnerable to cheap shots and didn’t hinder his forward motion. The belt was the first thing he would have put on and the last he would take off.
Our belt isn’t made of leather as we are in the invisible war but it should be the first thing we put on. It will protect us from being vulnerable as it keeps us from the shaky ground of lies. Truth may be one of those things we don’t give as much thought to as we should. We live in a world where lies are looked at as no big deal as long as they don’t hurt anyone and have a different name on them. If someone tells a lie but calls it a white lie we may shrug it off as not being all that bad.
Whether it is a white lie, a fib, “skirting around the truth” or some other such moniker, it isn’t the truth. When we opt for something other than the truth we are putting ourselves in a situation which we probably can’t see at the moment. Sure, people may not know we are lying but someone is going to find out at some point and they are going to start questioning everything we say and do from that time forward. Besides the Lord will always know when it isn’t the truth.
The truth about truth is there aren’t varying layers of it. Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life. If He is the truth and we take it lightly, doesn’t that mean we are taking Him lightly?
Making It Personal
How often do you lie? Does lying bother your conscience? In what situations are you most likely to start lying?
Making It Personal Kids
What is a lie? Have you ever told a lie? What is truth?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for reminding us how important truth is to You. Don’t let us forget just how important truth is to our faith life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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