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Ephesians 6:14-18(NIV) ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with
your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all
occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert
and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Continuing along our armor theme, this week’s lesson is about the breastplate of
righteousness, which is mentioned in verse 14 – Stand firm then, with the belt of
truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Although it seems to be buried in the middle of the verse, don’t overlook the
breastplate of righteousness — it is a major component of our Christian armor.
Let’s break it down. A breastplate is, essentially, a shield – a piece of armor that
covers a soldier’s chest, in order to protect his heart. That’s about as important as it
gets.

Why do our hearts need protection against the devil’s schemes?
Everyone knows that your heart is where people consider the emotion “love” to
reside. And indeed, it is usually where you feel all warm and fuzzy when you are
around those you love.

It’s also where you feel compassion for others. Throughout the Bible, there are
passages that say “God hardened their hearts” – I’m thinking about the scene with
Moses and Pharaoh when God “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not
release the Jews from slavery in Egypt. I used to wonder why. Why would God do
that, when it would be so much easier to make Pharaoh just say yes? That’s a
complicated answer, and it has a lot to do with Pharaoh’s free will and with God
showing his people he can do anything, even miracles, for those who love him.
Anyway, without compassion, without the ability to care for other people (not just
your family and friends), you cannot really live a Christian life. And that brings us
to the “righteousness” part.

At first the word looks simple enough – I mean “right” is the first syllable, so it
obviously has to do with “doing the right thing.” While we all try to be good
people and do the right thing all the time, it’s not always so easy, is it?

It’s not always easy to do your chores when you’d really rather play a video game.
It’s not so easy to remain calm when someone accidently breaks your toy or spills
something on your favorite sweater. It’s not easy to not say something mean back
to a person that has made fun of you or said something that made you feel bad.
Conversely, doing something nice for someone feels good. It feels good to offer to
reach something for an older person at the grocery store. It feels good to surprise
your Mom by putting away your toys or the dishes. It feels good when we imagine
how happy the senior citizens at the nursing home will feel when they get the
valentines we made.

Where on your body do you feel that emotion? Yep, your heart.
Doing good things for other people is a part of living a righteous life. Doing the
correct thing, even though it’s difficult, is part of living a righteous life. Avoiding
things that are bad or sinful is part of living a righteous life.
Why is being righteous important?
What happens when you do something you shouldn’t do? I don’t mean the
punishment or the consequences. How do you feel when you’ve done something
wrong? If you break something and someone else gets blamed, don’t you feel
guilty? If you say something that makes another person cry, don’t you feel empty
inside and disappointed with yourself?
Y’all better be saying “yes” and that’s a good thing. We call that little voice our
“conscience” and it warns us about actions that will make feel bad. And where do
we feel those bad, sad, disappointed feelings? In our hearts.
And if we are feeling guilty or mean because we did something wrong, how easy is
it to do the right thing later? Not too easy, and that is why it is one of the devil’s
schemes. Because the devil knows when you feel bad about yourself, it’s hard to
remember that God loves you and that you deserve God’s love.

Why is righteousness important? Because it keeps you closer to God. Because it
keeps you in a position where you can be a blessing in other people’s lives, by
helping them with a task or even asking how they are.

I often think that showing compassion for others is one way we can each be an
“angel” to someone else. In the Bible, an angel is usually a messenger. God uses
angles to deliver his message to humans – remember the angel bringing Mary the
news about Jesus?

When we live a righteous life and act compassionately for others, I like to think we
are giving them a message – that there is good in the world, that they matter, that
we value them. Who wouldn’t want that message? And then it will be easier for
them to do the “right” thing when they meet someone else.

So…. The breastplate of righteousness? Trying our best to do the right things and
live the life God wants us to, so that the devil cannot take advantage of our actions
to pull us away from God.
Put on your cross – it should fit right over your heart – and hold on to that warm
and fuzzy feeling that you get when you think about how much God loves you.

P.S. I want to give a special shoutout to Cassie for coming home from college last
weekend and making all the necklaces. She found just the perfect crystals, and I
think she did a super job. Thank you!!