The Breastplate of Righteousness

OK so let's take this ideological quest one step further. A lot of Christians have embraced the freedom movement. Many of them have morals. Some don't. There are always wolves in sheep's clothing. Yet as I keep saying you don't need a religion to have morals and the freedom movement is clearly not limited to Christians. We see Sikhs and Muslims join the line expressing their concern with the violation of parental rights in our schools and how the new curriculum is grooming children to change their gender or take fentanyl without their parents consent. This is an attack on morality but it is also an attack on the family and parental rights.

Protecting the family unit and parental rights is a separate conversation all on it's own. Today I want to expand on the Inquiry into Values and talk about righteousness which is the opposite of wickedness. If wickedness never was happiness then righteousness preserves happiness.

Christians like to quote a scripture found in Ephesians 6:10-17 which talks about putting on the whole armour of God. Before we talk about the armour, let's talk about the warning and the objective. In verse 12 it states "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Spiritual wickedness in high places. I think we can all see that.

So it goes on to talk about putting on armour in an allegorical sense to to combat and defend against Spiritual Wickedness in high places so that we may be able to confront that spiritual wickedness and stand against the wiles of the devil. So there's two missions here. One is to confront evil, the other is to not be overcome by evil.

For we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God. Personally I am not concerned about resting my soul in the kingdom of God but I am concerned with confronting evil and not being overcome by it. That's where the armour comes in.

I've heard a lot of stories about the courage of the Scottish. They've got a lot of bottle so they do. I think Hitler called them the ladies from Hell because of their kilts and their courage. I heard one Scottish historian claim that sometimes the Scottish would take off their kilts and run into battle naked. That's not a very smart thing to do. You're kind of exposed so you are.

In medieval times the British wore armour in battle. So did the Romans. So did King Saul. King Saul was a big man and his armour was too heavy for David. Personally, I don't wear a vest but if I was a soldier in war I would. It kind of makes sense. So let's examine this allegorical reference to armour as we strive to confront evil and not be overcome by it.

Ephesians talks about the shield of faith wherewith ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. A lot of those fiery darts come in the form of defamation, insults and lies. If we know the truth, we won't be swayed by the lies. Sticks and stones yo.

Faith is the moving cause of action within us. Faith gives us a reason to try. If I didn't have faith the light would go on when I flipped the switch, I wouldn't bother getting out of bed to flip the switch. Martin Luther King said the belief that God will do everything for man while he himself does nothing is not faith but superstition. Faith is a separate conversation all on it's own but a shield in battle is important. Just ask the Romans or the Spartans.

The sword is usually referred to as the sword of truth but in this verse about the armour of God it is called the sword of the Spirit which is also synonymous for truth. For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit.

Truth is sharper than a double edge sword. You confront evil with truth. You expose lies with truth. The truth will set you free if and only if you wear the breastplate of righteousness because if you walk the path of wickedness, the truth will simply expose you and condemn you. That is why liars hide in darkness but in the darkness, stars shine. Righteousness can be seen. Actions speak louder than words. So the breastplate of righteousness is our last line of defense.

A lot of scriptures talk about warfare and battle in an allegorical way. Our struggle with spiritual wickedness in high places is like being on the battlefield in war. Examining the allegory let's say we're fighting this battle and we get tired. All of us are human. All of us make mistakes and all of us get tired. We become too tired to hold up the shield and we drop it. Now we are exposed. We're too tired to wield the sword any more and it falls to the ground. Now we are completely exposed. The breastplate of righteousness is the last line of defense.

If the scales of justice find that we have been righteous, then the slander and the false allegations will not penetrate the breastplate and we will be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. If we take the breastplate of righteousness off and walk the path of wickedness then we will fall just like all the others around us. Stand true. Walk the walk. Live your faith.