Loins girt with truth

Ephesians 6:14a Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, 

Our clothing these days is no match to a Roman soldier of the day. Instead of a shirt or trouser, a Roman soldier of that time wore one long cloth which stopped at the knee area, something like a kanzu or tunic of our day. Now any clothing like that would not allow him move fast. Now if his speed was hindered, fighting would be difficult. Using other equipment too would be difficult. Girting himself or putting a girdle or belt around his waist would help him accomplish whatever he wanted very fast. 

This is what Paul was meaning. If we don't walk in truth, we cannot move fast in doing God's will. Truth also holds us firm and not fear that any discovery in the future will bring down all we have built.

If everyone worked towards whatever word they promise, we wouldn't have idle people around. Everyone would mind their business, and not stand watching others attempting to do something for God. For example someone promises to give a certain amount of money to the ministry and everything around them doesn't line up to their promise. They don't actively work towards achieving it and at the end of the day they don't fulfill. Then they blame God for having not supplied or they say it wasn't God's will. We should desist from such. We should be bound by our promises. Over promising and not delivering the promise is walking right in the pattern of this world.

There's a famous writter of old who propagated such thinking that some leaders walk by. He said that over promise but under deliver or deliver them slowly otherwise if you deliver your promises at once, the people might not need you anymore. That's why some countries remain poor. Some leaders think that when people become enriched or empowered, they reach a point when they become independent of their leaders so in order to keep them dependent on them, they deliver their promises slowly. To God, if you utter an oath to do something and you don't meet it, you are a fool. And we have many around. Do you know that's why some non believers don't want to employ Christians or entertain their Christian jargon? They don't see us serious sometimes. We don't say what we mean and don't mean what we say. We don't live up to the very truths we profess. 

Naturally we are told that there is an age when a person stops living a lie neither do they start to mince words. They show their "true" colours. We should mature in our thinking too not because of age but by the working of the Spirit in us. 

If you know that you know that you are called of God, live like it. If you are called Christian, live out what you are called, stop deceiving yourself. By that you will be an active and not a passive Christian. 

EK