M
DoYou Have Holes
In Your Soles?
A Spiritual Analogy to the Armor of God
Copyright 2008
stChristians are familiar with Ephesians6:13-17"Therefore, take up the fullarmor of God, so that youwill be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything,to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, having girdedyour loins with truth,and having put on the breastplateof righteousness, 15andhaving shod your feet withthe preparation of the gospel of peace;16 in addition to all, taking up the shieldof faith with which youwill be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet ofsalvation, and the swordof the Spirit,whichis the word of God. NASB"
Buthow many understand how to wear that armor or how to keep it in theperfect protecting condition that the Lord provides? Let's have alook:
Therefore, take upthe full armor of God,SOyou can stand firm andresist…"
Verse14: "Girdyour loins with truth": Character wins the campaign, not brute force. If your character isabove reproach, you win the battle. If there can be found in you noguile (cunning, deviousness, duplicity, sneakiness), no deceit orlies…even gray areas on that tax form, no malice, anger,resentment, jealousy, greed, lust, unforgiveness, or bitterness, onlythen are your loins girded with His Truth. Anything short of this,any of these sins, even 'just a little bit" taints the characterand causes it to become unclean, unrighteous, and void of truth. Areyour loins girded with truth…with His truth? Is your characterpristine? Makingit pristine requires acknowledgment of the above in your actions andthoughts and purposeful repentance. Keepingit pristine requires a daily, hourly (or constant!) holding of everythought captive and not letting it go until you have transformed itto meet the Lord's approval. In holding each thought captive for Hisscrutiny, we then gird our loins with His Truth. Participating inany of the unrighteousness listed above renders our loincloth tornand tattered. The spiritual parallel here is that the loinclothcovers the reproductive organs of the body. If we step out of Histruth in any area of our lives, we greatly diminish or even lose ourability to reproduce other Christians….we hinder our effectivenessto minister to the lost whether it is to plant seed or water.
"Havingput on the breastplate of righteousness":
Abreastplate is part of the wardrobe of a soldier, a garment of war. Only those called to war have need of such an article of attire. Only those that understand that we, who daily go into combat, haveneed of a spiritual breastplate. Yet, the commission is to ALLbelievers to put that breastplate on. The breastplate that the Lordprovides for us is a covering worn over the heart for its protection. A cover over our hearts, made out of righteousness, cannot bepenetrated by darts and arrows of the enemy….the darts and arrowsbeing the lies of Satan. Living righteously involves the portrayingof Godly character, as stated above. The first requirement ofrighteousness is obedience to His written word - every letter of it. Living righteously goes hand in hand with girding ones loins with HisTruth. They cannot be separated. Both are related to one'scharacter and intimacy with our Heavenly Father.
Doesyour breastplate have chinks or dents in it? Is your heartvulnerable to attacks of the enemy? Ask yourself "Do I takeoffense at the words of others?", "Do I fear how peoplemight respond to the 'real me'?", "Do I worry aboutpleasing people more than pleasing the Lord?" "Am Iholding a grudge against anyone?" If the answer to any of thesequestions is "Yes", then your breastplate is lessthan perfect. Ideally,our hearts are vulnerable only to what the Lord says to us. If weallow it to be vulnerable to the dealings of man, we step into therealm of idolatry. It is imperative to know who you are in Christ,who He is in you and what His word says about you. Knowledge of whoyou are and what His word says isyour breastplate and thelies of the enemy spoken through people…and sometimes evenin your own mind, cannotpenetrate that armor and pierce your heart.
Verse15:"having shod yourfeet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
To"shod" means to "shoe". A shoe is a durablecovering for the foot.
We areto cover our feet with the preparationof the Gospel of peace. Christ has done the preparation for us. Thepreparation is complete. Knowing and believingthe Gospel is how we attain the peace the Gospel speaks of. It comesfrom resting in the truth of what Christ has done for us; frombelieving that "It is finished"; that He completed all thatHe came to do. The rest is up to us. All we need to do is apply itto our lives, dying to self and ridding ourselves of pride.
Weneed to apply this preparation,thisprepared-and-given-by-Christ message;this knowing, believingand resting to our feetas a covering as we go to war against the enemy. Bare feet are fineif you stay hidden away, secure in the proverbial box of comfort andineffective for theKingdom of God. But the mere fact that God tellsus to shod or cover ourfeet tells usthat we shouldbe prepared for confrontation.
Nosoldier would wear a pair of flip-flops to war, leaving the top ofhis foot exposed and vulnerable. A flip-flop is not a sufficient,protective covering as one goes traipsing through the muck and mireof the lost and oppressed as we seek to plant seeds and win souls. Even planting seeds can get one's feet quite dirty! A proper'shodding' or covering for combat has a sturdy leather shankto provide ankle support and protection as one goes marching overrough terrain. Likewise, spiritual support and protection areprovided through His preparation of the Gospel, applying itsdirectives as we face our daily 'rough rows to hoe'.
Thehard toeof the boot protects the toes which provide balance to the body. Just as physical balance is necessary for physical health andmobility, spiritual balance is required for one's walk with the Lord. If one's toes are wounded, it is impossible to walk without limping. If one's spiritual walk is a limp, the preparation that Christ hasprovided needs to be applied and internalized. Without this it isimpossible to advance the kingdom of Heaven or to stand firm upon theground you've taken back from the enemy. Stand, resist and he willflee! (James 4:7).
Lastly,the soleof thesoldier's boot is thick and strong. Thick spiritual soles, just likethe physical counterpart of the shoe, aid in warding off offensesthat Satan presents to us as we go through our daily walk. Whereasthe thick sole of the boot provides the bottom of the foot withprotection from sharp objects that can cut through the skin, thespiritual sole represents our 'thick skin' with which we fend offverbal and emotional abuses, that no matter where we walk, sharpbarbs cannot penetrate us.
Doyou have holes in your soles? It takes only a small, sharp twig topenetrate that exposed skin. Satan will take advantage of any holeto bring you infection, gangrene and even death. That is his goal. Likewise, our spiritual walk becomes crooked when we accept sharpbarbs of careless, malicious or slanderous speech as truth, aboutourselves or about another. Accepting it about ourselves contradictswhat God says about who we are. Then pride steps in, gets defensiveand we stumble off the path of His righteousness. Accepting it aboutanother person puts us in the arena of gossip. To keep our solessturdy and strong we not only have to be aware that Satan will useother people to trip us up, but we must be most diligent about himnot using us towound others. Our holes are bigger when webring offense to another creature created in His image.
Verse16:TheShield of Faith:
Whatis a 'shield' of faith? A shield is a tool of war that is lifted andplaced in front of a soldier to ward off blows of all kinds. As sonsand daughters of God armed for war, our faith in the Lord Jesus andwhat He has accomplished through the shedding of His precious blood(atonement for our sins) becomesour shield. (This iswhere the captives and overcomers part company.) The validity andstrength of our faith is, in essence, the degree to which we base ourevery thought, action and breath, upon our heart's belief of whatChrist has done.
Manyhave knowledge of what Jesus has done, but not everyone realizes thatevery time we worry, fear or stress out, we are, because of thisdisobedience, allowing our shield to form rust. Not casting one'scares upon and trusting in the Lord's omnipotence and holy characteris sin. Unbelief is sin. And sin is contrary to faith. So ourshield becomes weakened and not as functional as it ought to be. Anymanifestation of anger, fear, pride, rebellion, lust, greed,jealousy, etc. puts rust on the fabric of our spiritual shield. Whenrust spots become numerous, disintegration takes place. Adisintegrated shield provides no protection from the darts and arrowsof Satan. Do you have rust spots on your shield of faith? Do youworry and fear for anything at all? Or do you raise that shield,praise His name, and ward off those attacks with a faith that isrooted in solid belief of who you are in Christ and who He is for youand IN you?
Verse17:TheHelmet of Salvation:
Awarrior wears a helmet upon his head for protection against braininjury. Head injury can render one senseless, mentally handicappedor even dead. A physical helmet protects the soldier from losing hissenses and becoming useless in a conflict. Likewise, the helmet ofsalvation, the knowledge that we are His and He is ours and all thatthat encompasses, is our protection against all the deceptions thatSatan attempts to set before us. In order to wear the helmet ofsalvation upon one's head (the part of the body which obtains,displays and emits knowledge), one needs to have heart knowledge ofthe Lord and His Gospel. While knowledge enters through the brain,it resonates in and through the heart. The helmet of salvationrepresents both mental and spiritual knowledge of God, His character,His ways, and His Son's overcoming accomplishments. The helmet is apicture of victory as we envision the soldier, his spear or gun inhand and his helmet, symbolizing his knowledge of strategic warfare,upon his head. If, at any time, a soldier's helmet were to becomedamaged or ill-fitting, it would not provide the sufficientprotection for his head. Today the helmets of our soldiers are madewith material that cannot be penetrated by enemy bullets. But in thetime of Biblical soldiers, this was not the case. They were made ofmetal and did provide a modicum of protection, but one good thrust ofan enemy's spear to the head and the solider was dead. How tough isthe material of your helmet? How strong and reliable is yourknowledge of God, His character, His ways and His Son'saccomplishments? Are you diligent to present yourself, approved byGod, as a workmen who does not need to be ashamed, who accuratelyhandles the word of truth? Do you store the verses, or at least theconcepts of them, upon your heart so when the occasion arises you cantell that enemy "It is written…"? If not, your 'helmet'is possibly nothing more than a stocking cap. The proper wearing ofthe Helmet of Salvation is a spiritual metaphor for seeing Christ asthe 'Head' of the body, His body, the Church.
Andfinally, theSword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
Asword is a weapon that has a long blade with one or two cuttingedges. It's an instrument of death or destruction. A weapon of war,the sword is used to pierce one's opponent, hopefully, to the pointof death. Wielded with power, a sword will cut through skin andbone, and any leather or metal that is covering the body. It can beused by a defender to 'cut off' the offender – his arm, his leg,his head. A double-edged sword has twice the potential for lethaldamage as it swings both to the left and right, slicing through andutterly destroying all that is in its path.
Asoldier is trained in the use of his sword before going to battle. He is taught to carry, draw out, attack with, and replace his swordin its sheath. He is taught how to care for his sword; to clean,sharpen, polish, and store it. Only after intense training with thesword is a warrior considered qualified to stand beside his comradesand fight against the enemy.
Howdo you wield your spiritual sword? How is it that a 'spiritual'sword can cut off or 'kill' anything? The Sword of the Spirit ISthe Word of God. The Sword of the Spirit is quite similar to thephysical double-edged sword, onlyperfect. The Swordof the Spirit represents a weapon mightierthan a two-edge sword that can cut through anything, in anydirection. "Forthe word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than anytwo-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul andspirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of thethoughts and intents of the heart.(Heb 4:12).
Asthe Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit is used to 'cut off' thelies of the enemy. It's used to remove things that have attachedthemselves to us, whether through our own incorrect thinking andfoolish words that we speak about ourselves or that come to usthrough the words and actions of others. God's word is His truthabout Him and about us. It is His truth concerning His provision forus, which is authority over our enemies. When Satan confronted Jesuswith all those temptations, Jesus was quick to declare "It iswritten". He applied God's written word to all that Satan putbefore Him.
Thatmighty Sword, His word, is both our perfect defense and offense as weconfront and penetrate the lies of the enemy that are spoken to us orabout us or those we love. It's the weapon of choice to combat fear,pride, rejection, doubt, and religion not only in others, but inourselves. As we apply His word to every situation, this Swordremoves that which is unclean, whatever is less than pure, all thatis not true. It slices through anger and rebellion revealing thetruth and origin of ungodly responses to daily situations andcircumstances. It is the perfect piece of armor given by the Fatherto pierce through the darkness of oppression, depression andconfusion, opening the eyes to the light of His Truth. How do youwield your Sword? Are you filled with the Word of God to the pointof overflowing; to the point of being able to immediately slashthrough that which does not line up with His character, His ways, Hiswill and His truth?
Everyday we are to put on the Armor of God. Each aspect of this Armor canbe likened to the very same weapons of war used by a soldier going tobattle. Every day we go to battle in the spiritual realm(recognized or not) with the feats or defeats, triumphs or trials,successes or failures of daily life. Why not recheck the conditionof your armor? Has the attitude of your heart kept it in conditionfit for any encounter that might arise? Don't go intobattle unprepared!
In Your Soles?
A Spiritual Analogy to the Armor of God
Copyright 2008
stChristians are familiar with Ephesians6:13-17"Therefore, take up the fullarmor of God, so that youwill be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything,to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, having girdedyour loins with truth,and having put on the breastplateof righteousness, 15andhaving shod your feet withthe preparation of the gospel of peace;16 in addition to all, taking up the shieldof faith with which youwill be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet ofsalvation, and the swordof the Spirit,whichis the word of God. NASB"
Buthow many understand how to wear that armor or how to keep it in theperfect protecting condition that the Lord provides? Let's have alook:
Therefore, take upthe full armor of God,SOyou can stand firm andresist…"
Verse14: "Girdyour loins with truth": Character wins the campaign, not brute force. If your character isabove reproach, you win the battle. If there can be found in you noguile (cunning, deviousness, duplicity, sneakiness), no deceit orlies…even gray areas on that tax form, no malice, anger,resentment, jealousy, greed, lust, unforgiveness, or bitterness, onlythen are your loins girded with His Truth. Anything short of this,any of these sins, even 'just a little bit" taints the characterand causes it to become unclean, unrighteous, and void of truth. Areyour loins girded with truth…with His truth? Is your characterpristine? Makingit pristine requires acknowledgment of the above in your actions andthoughts and purposeful repentance. Keepingit pristine requires a daily, hourly (or constant!) holding of everythought captive and not letting it go until you have transformed itto meet the Lord's approval. In holding each thought captive for Hisscrutiny, we then gird our loins with His Truth. Participating inany of the unrighteousness listed above renders our loincloth tornand tattered. The spiritual parallel here is that the loinclothcovers the reproductive organs of the body. If we step out of Histruth in any area of our lives, we greatly diminish or even lose ourability to reproduce other Christians….we hinder our effectivenessto minister to the lost whether it is to plant seed or water.
"Havingput on the breastplate of righteousness":
Abreastplate is part of the wardrobe of a soldier, a garment of war. Only those called to war have need of such an article of attire. Only those that understand that we, who daily go into combat, haveneed of a spiritual breastplate. Yet, the commission is to ALLbelievers to put that breastplate on. The breastplate that the Lordprovides for us is a covering worn over the heart for its protection. A cover over our hearts, made out of righteousness, cannot bepenetrated by darts and arrows of the enemy….the darts and arrowsbeing the lies of Satan. Living righteously involves the portrayingof Godly character, as stated above. The first requirement ofrighteousness is obedience to His written word - every letter of it. Living righteously goes hand in hand with girding ones loins with HisTruth. They cannot be separated. Both are related to one'scharacter and intimacy with our Heavenly Father.
Doesyour breastplate have chinks or dents in it? Is your heartvulnerable to attacks of the enemy? Ask yourself "Do I takeoffense at the words of others?", "Do I fear how peoplemight respond to the 'real me'?", "Do I worry aboutpleasing people more than pleasing the Lord?" "Am Iholding a grudge against anyone?" If the answer to any of thesequestions is "Yes", then your breastplate is lessthan perfect. Ideally,our hearts are vulnerable only to what the Lord says to us. If weallow it to be vulnerable to the dealings of man, we step into therealm of idolatry. It is imperative to know who you are in Christ,who He is in you and what His word says about you. Knowledge of whoyou are and what His word says isyour breastplate and thelies of the enemy spoken through people…and sometimes evenin your own mind, cannotpenetrate that armor and pierce your heart.
Verse15:"having shod yourfeet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
To"shod" means to "shoe". A shoe is a durablecovering for the foot.
We areto cover our feet with the preparationof the Gospel of peace. Christ has done the preparation for us. Thepreparation is complete. Knowing and believingthe Gospel is how we attain the peace the Gospel speaks of. It comesfrom resting in the truth of what Christ has done for us; frombelieving that "It is finished"; that He completed all thatHe came to do. The rest is up to us. All we need to do is apply itto our lives, dying to self and ridding ourselves of pride.
Weneed to apply this preparation,thisprepared-and-given-by-Christ message;this knowing, believingand resting to our feetas a covering as we go to war against the enemy. Bare feet are fineif you stay hidden away, secure in the proverbial box of comfort andineffective for theKingdom of God. But the mere fact that God tellsus to shod or cover ourfeet tells usthat we shouldbe prepared for confrontation.
Nosoldier would wear a pair of flip-flops to war, leaving the top ofhis foot exposed and vulnerable. A flip-flop is not a sufficient,protective covering as one goes traipsing through the muck and mireof the lost and oppressed as we seek to plant seeds and win souls. Even planting seeds can get one's feet quite dirty! A proper'shodding' or covering for combat has a sturdy leather shankto provide ankle support and protection as one goes marching overrough terrain. Likewise, spiritual support and protection areprovided through His preparation of the Gospel, applying itsdirectives as we face our daily 'rough rows to hoe'.
Thehard toeof the boot protects the toes which provide balance to the body. Just as physical balance is necessary for physical health andmobility, spiritual balance is required for one's walk with the Lord. If one's toes are wounded, it is impossible to walk without limping. If one's spiritual walk is a limp, the preparation that Christ hasprovided needs to be applied and internalized. Without this it isimpossible to advance the kingdom of Heaven or to stand firm upon theground you've taken back from the enemy. Stand, resist and he willflee! (James 4:7).
Lastly,the soleof thesoldier's boot is thick and strong. Thick spiritual soles, just likethe physical counterpart of the shoe, aid in warding off offensesthat Satan presents to us as we go through our daily walk. Whereasthe thick sole of the boot provides the bottom of the foot withprotection from sharp objects that can cut through the skin, thespiritual sole represents our 'thick skin' with which we fend offverbal and emotional abuses, that no matter where we walk, sharpbarbs cannot penetrate us.
Doyou have holes in your soles? It takes only a small, sharp twig topenetrate that exposed skin. Satan will take advantage of any holeto bring you infection, gangrene and even death. That is his goal. Likewise, our spiritual walk becomes crooked when we accept sharpbarbs of careless, malicious or slanderous speech as truth, aboutourselves or about another. Accepting it about ourselves contradictswhat God says about who we are. Then pride steps in, gets defensiveand we stumble off the path of His righteousness. Accepting it aboutanother person puts us in the arena of gossip. To keep our solessturdy and strong we not only have to be aware that Satan will useother people to trip us up, but we must be most diligent about himnot using us towound others. Our holes are bigger when webring offense to another creature created in His image.
Verse16:TheShield of Faith:
Whatis a 'shield' of faith? A shield is a tool of war that is lifted andplaced in front of a soldier to ward off blows of all kinds. As sonsand daughters of God armed for war, our faith in the Lord Jesus andwhat He has accomplished through the shedding of His precious blood(atonement for our sins) becomesour shield. (This iswhere the captives and overcomers part company.) The validity andstrength of our faith is, in essence, the degree to which we base ourevery thought, action and breath, upon our heart's belief of whatChrist has done.
Manyhave knowledge of what Jesus has done, but not everyone realizes thatevery time we worry, fear or stress out, we are, because of thisdisobedience, allowing our shield to form rust. Not casting one'scares upon and trusting in the Lord's omnipotence and holy characteris sin. Unbelief is sin. And sin is contrary to faith. So ourshield becomes weakened and not as functional as it ought to be. Anymanifestation of anger, fear, pride, rebellion, lust, greed,jealousy, etc. puts rust on the fabric of our spiritual shield. Whenrust spots become numerous, disintegration takes place. Adisintegrated shield provides no protection from the darts and arrowsof Satan. Do you have rust spots on your shield of faith? Do youworry and fear for anything at all? Or do you raise that shield,praise His name, and ward off those attacks with a faith that isrooted in solid belief of who you are in Christ and who He is for youand IN you?
Verse17:TheHelmet of Salvation:
Awarrior wears a helmet upon his head for protection against braininjury. Head injury can render one senseless, mentally handicappedor even dead. A physical helmet protects the soldier from losing hissenses and becoming useless in a conflict. Likewise, the helmet ofsalvation, the knowledge that we are His and He is ours and all thatthat encompasses, is our protection against all the deceptions thatSatan attempts to set before us. In order to wear the helmet ofsalvation upon one's head (the part of the body which obtains,displays and emits knowledge), one needs to have heart knowledge ofthe Lord and His Gospel. While knowledge enters through the brain,it resonates in and through the heart. The helmet of salvationrepresents both mental and spiritual knowledge of God, His character,His ways, and His Son's overcoming accomplishments. The helmet is apicture of victory as we envision the soldier, his spear or gun inhand and his helmet, symbolizing his knowledge of strategic warfare,upon his head. If, at any time, a soldier's helmet were to becomedamaged or ill-fitting, it would not provide the sufficientprotection for his head. Today the helmets of our soldiers are madewith material that cannot be penetrated by enemy bullets. But in thetime of Biblical soldiers, this was not the case. They were made ofmetal and did provide a modicum of protection, but one good thrust ofan enemy's spear to the head and the solider was dead. How tough isthe material of your helmet? How strong and reliable is yourknowledge of God, His character, His ways and His Son'saccomplishments? Are you diligent to present yourself, approved byGod, as a workmen who does not need to be ashamed, who accuratelyhandles the word of truth? Do you store the verses, or at least theconcepts of them, upon your heart so when the occasion arises you cantell that enemy "It is written…"? If not, your 'helmet'is possibly nothing more than a stocking cap. The proper wearing ofthe Helmet of Salvation is a spiritual metaphor for seeing Christ asthe 'Head' of the body, His body, the Church.
Andfinally, theSword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
Asword is a weapon that has a long blade with one or two cuttingedges. It's an instrument of death or destruction. A weapon of war,the sword is used to pierce one's opponent, hopefully, to the pointof death. Wielded with power, a sword will cut through skin andbone, and any leather or metal that is covering the body. It can beused by a defender to 'cut off' the offender – his arm, his leg,his head. A double-edged sword has twice the potential for lethaldamage as it swings both to the left and right, slicing through andutterly destroying all that is in its path.
Asoldier is trained in the use of his sword before going to battle. He is taught to carry, draw out, attack with, and replace his swordin its sheath. He is taught how to care for his sword; to clean,sharpen, polish, and store it. Only after intense training with thesword is a warrior considered qualified to stand beside his comradesand fight against the enemy.
Howdo you wield your spiritual sword? How is it that a 'spiritual'sword can cut off or 'kill' anything? The Sword of the Spirit ISthe Word of God. The Sword of the Spirit is quite similar to thephysical double-edged sword, onlyperfect. The Swordof the Spirit represents a weapon mightierthan a two-edge sword that can cut through anything, in anydirection. "Forthe word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than anytwo-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul andspirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of thethoughts and intents of the heart.(Heb 4:12).
Asthe Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit is used to 'cut off' thelies of the enemy. It's used to remove things that have attachedthemselves to us, whether through our own incorrect thinking andfoolish words that we speak about ourselves or that come to usthrough the words and actions of others. God's word is His truthabout Him and about us. It is His truth concerning His provision forus, which is authority over our enemies. When Satan confronted Jesuswith all those temptations, Jesus was quick to declare "It iswritten". He applied God's written word to all that Satan putbefore Him.
Thatmighty Sword, His word, is both our perfect defense and offense as weconfront and penetrate the lies of the enemy that are spoken to us orabout us or those we love. It's the weapon of choice to combat fear,pride, rejection, doubt, and religion not only in others, but inourselves. As we apply His word to every situation, this Swordremoves that which is unclean, whatever is less than pure, all thatis not true. It slices through anger and rebellion revealing thetruth and origin of ungodly responses to daily situations andcircumstances. It is the perfect piece of armor given by the Fatherto pierce through the darkness of oppression, depression andconfusion, opening the eyes to the light of His Truth. How do youwield your Sword? Are you filled with the Word of God to the pointof overflowing; to the point of being able to immediately slashthrough that which does not line up with His character, His ways, Hiswill and His truth?
Everyday we are to put on the Armor of God. Each aspect of this Armor canbe likened to the very same weapons of war used by a soldier going tobattle. Every day we go to battle in the spiritual realm(recognized or not) with the feats or defeats, triumphs or trials,successes or failures of daily life. Why not recheck the conditionof your armor? Has the attitude of your heart kept it in conditionfit for any encounter that might arise? Don't go intobattle unprepared!