Spiritual Self-Defense
In the book of Ephesians, St. Paul tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). He goes on to say that we are called to fight against the devil and all the evil that he brings, but how can we, simple humans, fight against the supreme leader of evil? How are we able to resist him and not be corrupted by him? In the book of Deuteronomy Moses writes that “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6). St. Paul explains to us that God is with us in our fight against the evil in this world and that we need to, “…take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).” This armor is only metaphorical, but when we put it to practice the protection it gives us is stronger than any protection we could wear ourselves.
St. Paul tells us to, “stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17). The first piece of armor is referred to as the “belt of truth” because when people used to “gird their loins” they would tie their cloaks around their waist making a sort of belt. So the first thing we must do is to remember the truth that God offers us, and that we must use that truth to ward off the lies of the Devil. The second piece of armor is the “breastplate of righteousness,” and the word righteousness is defined as “acting in accord with divine or moral law.” So we must remember to follow the law of God and to follow it completely. To be righteous, one must always try to follow the law and to avoid being a hypocrite.
The next two pieces of armor are the “the boots of the Gospel” and the “sword of the spirit.” These two pieces of armor are helpful to understand and live out the law of God and in turn helps us to put on the first two pieces of armor. So St. Paul tells us that we need to know our scripture, and the best way for us to do that is to spend time reading it every day; even for just one verse. The next piece of Armor is the “helmet of salvation.” This piece of armor is crucial to have because we must acknowledge that Jesus Christ has saved us from death. That God himself came to Earth as a son and died for us so that we may have everlasting life. This realization can help you keep fighting the good fight because we know that whatever struggles we are facing right now we have already won because Christ Jesus won them for us. The final piece of the armor is the “shield of truth.” This is the last piece of the armor because without the others we are unable to hold this shield. To truly live our faith we must know the truth of God, we must live according to his laws, we should spend time reading and listening to his word, and lastly we must know that he has saved us. When we come to this realization, it is then that our shield will not break after the attacks and the temptations we suffer in this life.
Lastly St. Paul urges us to “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). This means that whenever we feel doubtful, or if we are having a hard time putting on a certain piece of our armor, we must always remember to pray to God and to the Saints to help us in our time of need, and through prayer, nothing can truly harm us. |
