We are to take up the shield of faith in all circumstances. (Eph. 6:16) What could that mean? I thought that meant that we should cover our eyes toward pornographic images. And cover our ears from explicit lyrics of secular music. And shield our mouth from speaking dirty words. Surely, those things are to be practiced by all Christians. But the shield of faith represents more than simply blocking out bad things from our lives. It also means blocking out good things from our lives as well.

Why would we do that? Why would we block out good things from our lives? If those good things would likely become our ultimate things, then we need to block them out. If we find our worth in something other than God, then we are to put up our shield of faith and block it out.

For example, family. Family is a wonderful thing. God has given us to live in, to grow in and to experience God in our family. But if our family is ultimately where we draw our self-worth from, then it has replaced the true God. We must block it out with our shield of faith. That doesn’t mean that we leave our family. It means changing our perspective so that our family is a means of grace rather than the source of it. God alone is the source of Grace. Family is just one of many means to experience that grace.

Another example is making ends meet. Striving to make our ends meet is a good thing. We are commended to work with our hands and provide for the family. But if providing for the family and affording basic necessities such as houses and cars  has become our ultimate goal, then we must block that out with the shield of faith. Again, we need to remind ourselves that we are created to worship God and feel His pleasure and not just survive by eating, drinking, and finding shelter. We are more than animals.

Put worship at the forefront of your life. You were created for it. Everything else (that we think are so important) is given in support of it.

PH