Reflections

The Whole Armor of God #2

When I was in the fifth grade, some cousins of mine sat next to a friend at church. I don’t know who this friend was, but, it turns out, she had the chicken pox. The next week, all five of those cousins came down with the chicken pox, as did my two other cousins and myself. (All eight at the same time – I don’t know if that was a blessing or a curse!) Even worse, this happened just before Christmas, and I can’t think of a more dreadful way to spend the holidays than scratching all over.

My chicken pox wasn’t as bad as some of our cases, but it was still pretty dreadful. The thing I remember most about having the chicken pox is that I had one sore right above one of my eyes (I think it was the left one; the scar is still there). Said sore made it nearly impossible for me to see out of that eye. I avoided mirrors because I looked so pathetic. I’m still not that fond of mirrors, come to think of it.

Like a mirror can reflect an image, our righteousness is reflected in our hearts. Proverbs 27:19 says, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man” (NKJV). In Ephesians 6:14, Christians are commanded to don the Breastplate of Righteousness. The Breastplate will cover the body around the actual, physical heart. Figuratively speaking, we also use the word “heart” as a synonym for “mind.” To guard our physical heart (and as well our figurative one, I believe), we should put on that Breastplate of Righteousness.

The Breastplate of Righteousness will guard our hearts from evil thoughts and evil deeds. Making it a point to live righteously will eventually usurp our desires to live unrighteous lives. I believe this is summed up in one of the points we have learned in our Wednesday Night Bible Study class: “Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established” (Proverbs 16:3, NKJV). Or, as pop psychology would put it, “Act yourself into a better way of thinking.”

Not looking into a mirror when I had the chicken pox didn’t take away the spots, but it helped get my mind off the pain. Likewise, when we focus our energies on living as God wants us to live, we protect our hearts with that Breastplate of Righteousness. In so doing, we help keep out the evil. Are you protecting your heart from worldly pleasures?