Teenage boys come up with some crazy ideas. When Jeff (names have been changed to protect the not so innocent) learned he needed to do a research project for his physics class, he immediately thought of paintball. The property where they lived was heavily wooded and one of their favorite activities was to play paintball there. They donned body armor and helmets and disappeared in different directions. Soon the woods filled with laughter (and occasional shouts of pain) as ambushes were sprung and paintballs flew.
Jeff convinced his teacher to let him do his project on the effectiveness of different paintball body armor. He would fire paintballs at his brother, John, who was wearing different types of armor, while videotaping it all. Then he’d analyze the effectiveness of the different materials.
To get a control baseline, however, he convinced John to let him shoot him in the back with just a T-shirt on. John was a pretty good sport, but his shouts could be heard all over the property after the first paintball hit. Let’s just say, the bruise was quite impressive. Jeff got an “A” on the project, by the way.
The second piece of the Armor of God is “the breastplate of righteousness…” (Ephesians 6:14 NIV). A breastplate is armor that protects the body’s vital organs, particularly the heart. Without this body armor we are doomed in our battle with the enemy. This is why Proverbs 4:23 warns us to “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
This “breastplate of righteousness” is not created with our own good deeds for “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” (Isaiah 64:6). Our own righteousness offers no protection at all. The only breastplate which can truly protect our hearts is the one created in the forge of Calvary, Christ’s righteousness, “the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Philippians 3:9).
Today, you will face an enemy that has you totally outclassed. Don’t go into the battle half-dressed. Make sure to put on all your armor, including the breastplate of righteousness, before you head out the door. Remember, “Above all else, guard your heart…”