Take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6
These verses from Ephesians are coming at just the right time. When we are surrounded by adversity, God invites us to put on God's armor. But this is not like our human armor! It is not guns and swords and shields and body armor and humvees. It is instead a very different kind of armor, the armor of truth, of peace and of righteousness.
I don't know about you, but when I am at my lowest, truth, peace and righteousness all sound pretty good to me. So if this has been a difficult week for you, or you are struggling with how to process bad news, or make sense of the world around you, I invite you to put on the whole armor of God. To seek Truth, Peace, and Righteousness.
I like that God offers the belt of truth, because without the truth our pants fall down and we can't move anywhere.
Similarly having shoes of peace means that we should not seek to go anywhere if we don't first have peace in our heart.
Beginning by seeking out the truth of the matter, listening to those speaking and to the voiceless, is a first step to being on God's side. Similarly walking in peace, not seeking to fight, or argue or divide but to bring together, to heal and to share, is part of walking the way of the Lord.
But what is righteousness? Sometimes I associate righteousness with a kind of false piety, ' oh they are so self righteous!' but that is not what God is offering here. That is not the breastplate of righteousness.
Walking in righteousness is about being humble, prayerful, patient, and forgiving. Embodying Jesus in our daily life and work. So it is appropriate that Paul refers to the Breastplate of Righteousness because this is an activity we participate in every time we draw breath. We breathe air in and remind ourselves of God's love for us and the sacrifices offered, and we breathe out our own desire to love and care and sacrifice and lift up the people of God.
This week I invite you to spend some time breathing in God's righteousness and breathing out God's love into the world. Does that change how you see things? How you respond to things? How you feel things?