Daily Devotional

How do you respond when under attack? Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a big movie guy. But even if you’re not that big into movies, most have seen or heard of the classic Karate Kid. One of the most iconic scenes in the film is when Mr. Miyagi shows Daniel-son how all of the lessons come together for a purpose: "paint the fence", "wax on, wax off", "sand the floor", etc. And I love that the point of all of the lessons was that when you have a strong defense, it's hard to fall victim to an attack. You may have also heard it said that defense wins championships.

So, back to the initial question, when under attack, we respond with either "fight" or "flight," and both responses have a lot to say about our preparation. We know that we are in a battle; spiritual warfare is real. We have an enemy who is going to wage war against us, and more often than not, we don't ready our defenses until after we've been attacked. But we are called to have a strong defense, and we've been equipped with a very important piece of defense: the breastplate of righteousness.

Today's passage reminds us that our best line of defense is a life of righteousness. A breastplate is simply body armor. In the modern context, think of a flak jacket with sapi plates or a Kevlar vest that protects one from bullets. Could you even fathom someone going into a battle without body armor? Of course not, because you leave yourself open to attack. That's the same thing we do when our aim isn’t righteous living. The easiest way to defend ourselves against the enemy is by daily putting on the breastplate of righteousness. When we live a godly lifestyle of righteousness, there isn't much room for the enemy to strike us. Wax on. Wax off.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.