“Stand [firm] therefore, having girded your waist with truth” Ephesians 6:14.
Last year our daughter got married and it was a beautiful day despite my embarrassing mishap. She decided that as her dad walked her down the aisle they would stop at my row and have me join them as they gather down front. Beautiful, meaningful, symbolically powerful, right? Not so much thanks to the dress and heels in which I had dressed myself that day. As I began the walk (short walk thankfully) the high heel of my shoe punctured through the chiffon overlay of my dress and caused me to stumble. As I stood up front it remained bound, so I fumbled with it until it was released. For the rest of the evening I was well aware of the danger and embarrassment that could happen again. So I bound up the front of my dress in my hand as I moved around through the evening. I was reminded of this image today when reading our verse.
In this verse, Paul was referring to the image of a soldier readying himself for battle. Because their armor weighed over 70 pounds it was important to have a substantial belt at the waist to support everything else. In addition to this the belt was a part of the armor in which they would tuck the front of their tunic so they would not stumble as they walked. To gird means to bind...to make fast...to surround, provide and equip. We as people of flesh dress ourselves in all kinds of cumbersome materials...fabrics of emotions...outer garments of entitlement...inner garments of pride. We wear shoes of judgment as we trample over others, and forget the call to care as God instructs in Ephesians 4:29, ‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful in building others up according to their needs.’ On Sundays we tuck in our emotions and our desire to live more holy, but do we carry our Sundays into Mondays? Do we allow the same old fabric of sin to hang around our feet, or do we apply the Word of God to our temptations and weaknesses?
God’s word is complete and for every action there is a command. How can we move around in freedom... unbound and unencumbered...if we do not apply His word in every thought, feeling and action? I heard a powerful statement in my Bible Study Video this morning. Feelings don’t have intellect. Let us be smart in the Lord and gird our spiritual core with the truths of His word. We can’t be people who go around tripping over our emotions, feelings and habitual flesh behavior. We must be people who are ready to run into battle against the enemy with nothing to trip us up. We can either wear the cumbersome material of the flesh or the self-disciplined material of the Spirit.
“Keep my decrees...Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material” Lev 19:19.
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