In Ephesians 6:14 the Apostle Paul told believers to put “on the belt of truth” as one piece of God’s armor to help them stand their ground. The Roman soldier used a belt that held pieces of armor together. The belt held the breast plate tight against the waist so it would not fly up exposing the chest. It held a protective mesh around the hips and waist that protected them from injury during defensive or offensive movement. It also kept the sword and other weapons close at hand and ready for use in combat.
Similar to the Roman soldier, our armor will fall apart if we choose a weak belt, and it will hold together if we choose a strong belt. Therefore, it’s important to choose God’s truth as our belt so our armor will not fall apart when challenged by our worldly enemies. We can then stand firm in the real truth and not be stirred away when manipulators and intimidators try to shake us up with their worldly beliefs.
Our view of what is true or false forms the basis of the beliefs, philosophies, and doctrines we choose to accept or reject. Those that we accept form the lens through which we view the world around us, influencing us in our thoughts, speech, and the actions we take. So, it is very important to discern what is really true and what is really false in the many relationships and situations we experience every day.
Many non-believers provide very persuasive arguments for what they believe is true or false. Many push their beliefs and ideas to rally others on their side. They often belittle those who do not agree with them to intimidate them into submission. In our world, zealots use techniques to manipulate others into following them. They often succeed because many people do not understand the issues, and do not take the time to dig to the bottom of each issue to find the real truth behind it. These manipulators have learned the power of what I call “sound bite mania”; using words and catch phrases that solicit the reaction they want from those who do not think for themselves and who often react emotionally rather than logically.
A central theme in the Bible is understanding what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and why we must let Him be our lord and master. At the core of this understanding are the truths revealed to us from the word of God and from the world He created for us. As believers we must value the truths revealed by God above what the world says is true to ensure that we are correctly focused. We do this by keeping our focus on Jesus Christ in our thoughts, our speech, and our actions. When we encounter sound bite mania, we must use the Bible to guide us in researching the issues to find the real truth behind them.
In thinking how truth could be used as a useful piece of armor against sound bite mania, I considered an experience I had years ago with an F-14 Tomcat. At the time it was the Navy's newest state of the art fighter aircraft. This experience led me to the following ideas about the topic of Truth:
2. Defining your objectives: first truth, second truth, and third truth,
I hope my blogs on this topic will help you on your lordship journey.
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