Ephesians 5:1-7
Verse 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
We can’t talk about the breastplate without talking about the job it is doing. We have mentioned it protects our vital organs which makes a lot of sense in the physical realm but what does the breastplate protect in the spiritual life? We tend to think of dangers as something which affect us physically but those are not the only dangers we should be concerned with. In fact it may behoove us to be more concerned about the spiritual dangers in life than the physical ones since our spiritual life is eternal.
It is our most basic reflex to protect the body part that is being put in danger. If we see something coming at us we duck, dodge or swat. We also have the reflex of closing our eyes when something is coming at our face. But what about when things are coming at us spiritually? For our reflexes to work we have to have those things defined as a dangerous threat. Usually that comes through experiencing similar things while we are young. A child who has been hit in the head with a ball is more likely to dodge it the next time, a person who has been repeatedly slapped will wince and cower anytime someone raises their hand near them.
Some physical reflexes can be learned by repeatedly seeing the action taken by or towards another person, meaning we don’t have to experience something to be able to build a reaction to it. When it comes to our spiritual protection we can also learn from watching others, both those who are making the godly choice and those who are making the choice not to live a life of light. We should especially look to Jesus’ example.
This passage lists things we looked at a little bit during our study of truth but they also fall under this need to guard ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness. If we are wanting to guard our hearts against the things which are not righteous, we need to stand in righteousness. It is in choosing to live and think righteously that we can see the danger in activities those around us see as normal. Sadly, even in Christian circles it isn’t uncommon to hear language or stories which are not God glorifying.
Knowing the danger of these types of things to our spiritual lives we need to make sure we are not allowing them in whether it is through hearing, speaking, reading or even watching them on TV or social media. We must be diligent about guarding our hearts by guarding our ears, eyes and eyes.
Making It Personal
What steps can you take to make sure those things don’t get into your heart? How intentional are you about what you allow into your heart? In what way could you most easily be influenced?
Making It Personal Kids
Can you tell if something you hear or see would please Jesus or not? How can you know what pleases Him? What do you do when you hear or see something He wouldn’t like?
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess we don’t always keep our heart as pure as we should and we don’t guard our hearts as You have told us to. Help us see the truth about these sinful things and what steps we need to take to guard our hearts from them. In Jesus’ name, amen.