Rematch!
Or More Spiritual Paintball!
A little while back, I gave a talk on the Armour of God ("Who We Are Instead" pt.4: History Makers). After going Paintballing last Thursday, that passage in Ephesians took on some new relevance for me, so I'm going to revisit the topic--thus the title, "Rematch"
Ephesians 6:10-18
When we went paintballing, we were given equipment not unlike the armour that St. Paul writes about. They outfitted us with a helmet/mask, a gun, and a coloured pad that went around our neck and hung down in front and back, that distinguished what team we were on (and dulled considerably the impact of the paintball hitting our chest). They also warned us that we should be wearing adequate footgear, because the ground was slippery from paint all over.
Playing paintball, the rules were clear. If you weren't adequately suited up, if you took your helmet off, you were suspended for a game. If you did it again, you were kicked out! This is because of the absolute necessity for this equipment! You could be seriously injured, or even blinded, without your helmet!
Compare that to the Spiritual Life:
The armour that St. Paul is describing is probably that of the Roman soldiers that he saw every day as he sat in prison. Each piece has an important function, and so he attributed each piece to a part of Christian spirituality. He calls it "God's armour" because he didn't actually come up with the idea. About 500 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah used the same metaphor, describing God Himself suiting up for battle! The thing is, St. Paul says, is that the Armour that God Himself uses to wage war against the Devil, is the same armour He gives to each of us!
So what does God give us?
Truth a belt round your waist. In Roman armour, the belt was used to hold the armour in place, so that in battle, it wouldn't get moved around, leaving gaps and chinks that would leave the soldier vulnerable. This is why it's compared to Truth. The Truth is what keeps us grounded, focused, and sure. Many people today want to deny any such objective truth, preferring to say that whatever works for them is true for them, and we can't impose our morals and values on them...blahblahblah. What that gets you is a wishy-washy soup that in the end doesn't really mean anything. Jesus offers us stability and surety. And from that stability, we base the rest of our lives, our faith and our works.
Our belt holds our breastplate of uprightness in place. Many things in this world make our righteousness seem outdated, saying that morals need to change. Abortion, gay marriage, sex, drug use, and a host of other things in this world seem up for grabs, and we can be tempted to start thinking, "Oh well, it's not that bad!" But when our morals, our righteousness, is held in place by the Truth of Christ, we avoid that attitude!
This fact was demonstrated to me in Paintball. Of all the equipment they supply, a belt is not included. In one game, I was crouching, and getting shot at. The position I was in caused that breastplate-thing to shift to the right, leaving the left part of my chest exposed. One unfortunate paintball happened to nail me square in the nipple! As I recoiled from the pain, another shot hit me right in the thigh! Let me tell you, they hurt! A belt would have held the armour in place, and (while, according to the rules, I'd still be out) I wouldn't have the bruises I have still today!
After the breastplate, St. Paul mentions wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace. Wearing the right shoes is very important--especially paintballing! With the greasy paint all over the walls and floor, it's incredibly easy to slip, leaving yourself vulnerable to attack, or worse, causing yourself injury as you tumble down stairs! One girl who came with us wore flip-flop sandals, and opted out of participating because the staff warned her of how unsafe they would be. I wore hiking boots and had a hard enough time staying stable and mobile! At one point I was running for cover, slipped, and took a shot to the top of my head!
Spiritually, we need to be eager to spread the good news of Jesus--but we also need to be prepared. While the NJB (quoted above) describes the shoes as the "eagerness" to spread the gospel, most other translations use the term "preparation" of the gospel. I think the two ideas have to go together. More, I think we need to be equipped with the right shoes for the right situation. You wouldn't try to reach out to a Muslim after boning up on your reasons why atheism is wrong! You wouldn't try to convert a Mormon by telling him why Hinduism is wrong! Many people train themselves to defend the faith against specific opponents. It makes them highly effective against them, perhaps, but not so much against some other belief system or ideology. Personally, I think it's better to be wearing CrossTrainers. Knowing your own faith, why it's true and real, is more effective than demonstrating why the other is false! Bankers are taught to recognise counterfeit bills not by researching counterfeiting techniques, but by studying the real thing! We should have the same mentality, and be prepared to share our faith with others.
But we should also be eager, not timid. The Gospel means "Good News"! Why are we gonna keep that to ourselves? Don't be discouraged or frightened. God is with you!
The shield of faith. Ohh how I wish I had one of those paintballing! The referees got them--the cool, clear riot gear kind! A shield is the first line of defence in the armour. Is it any wonder St. Paul equates it to faith? Our faith is our response to God's grace, and opens the door to our salvation! Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith, it is impossible to please God! With faith, we can hold firm to our beliefs, even in the face of challenges. The shield works jointly with the breastplate because you won't always be able to get the shield in front, and the breastplate can take those blows. But you won't stand under too many. Likewise, our faith has to be the motivation for our good works. Doing good works without faith as a motive leads to spiritual exhaustion and apathy. Having faith without those good works, and any shot that gets past faith will strike a killing blow!
Salvation as your helmet. Do not take your helmet off! In the spiritual life, it can be a little worse than sitting out for a game! Salvation equals life--that's why it has the illustrious position of helmet. Our head is arguably the most vital organ in our body, and is rather irreplaceable! So is God's Saving Grace! It keeps us in the game!
The Sword of the Spirit. Paintballing without a gun is really no fun at all. It's not much better with a gun but no ammo! You're kind of, well, ineffective to put it mildly. The Word of God is our weapon. We need to know the Word thoroughly, in order to use it effectively! That is why we must study the Bible, pay attention in Mass, and listen to the Church's teachings. These comprise the Word of God for us: Scripture, Tradition, and the Church. They reveal and interpret God's Truth to us. Remember that Belt? This is how we put it on! Knowing the Word is like being a sniper in paintballing. Targeting someone and shooting them across the room before they even know where you are! This is how Jesus used the Word in Matthew 4, when He was being tempted by the Devil. His knowledge of God's Word was so intimate that He could throw it out there to counter every attack and temptation of the Enemy until he had to leave in utter frustration! We need to come to know Jesus that intimately. We need to know His Word that thoroughly!
Finally, all your prayer is an effective weapon as well. God listens and answers, and fights on our behalf! "Never get[ting] tired of staying awake to pray for all God's holy people" is like laying down cover fire, driving back the Enemy so that others can move in and storm the gates! We are not alone in this fight, and all of us need to work together, as God's Church, to combat the spiritual forces in this world!
So suit up, step out, and wage war!
And fer cryin' out loud, Leave your armour on!
God bless!
A little while back, I gave a talk on the Armour of God ("Who We Are Instead" pt.4: History Makers). After going Paintballing last Thursday, that passage in Ephesians took on some new relevance for me, so I'm going to revisit the topic--thus the title, "Rematch"
Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of His power. Put on the full armour of God so as to be able to resist the devil's tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens. That is why you must take up all God's armour, or you will not be able to put up any resistance on the evil day, or stand your ground even though you exert yourselves to the full.
So stand your ground, with truth a belt round your waist, and uprightness a breastplate, wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace [Is 59:17;40:9] and always carrying around the shield of faith so that you can use it to quench the burning arrows of the Evil One. And then you must take salvation as your helmet and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God.
In all your prayer and entreaty keep praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion. Never get tired of staying awake to pray for all God's holy people.
When we went paintballing, we were given equipment not unlike the armour that St. Paul writes about. They outfitted us with a helmet/mask, a gun, and a coloured pad that went around our neck and hung down in front and back, that distinguished what team we were on (and dulled considerably the impact of the paintball hitting our chest). They also warned us that we should be wearing adequate footgear, because the ground was slippery from paint all over.
Playing paintball, the rules were clear. If you weren't adequately suited up, if you took your helmet off, you were suspended for a game. If you did it again, you were kicked out! This is because of the absolute necessity for this equipment! You could be seriously injured, or even blinded, without your helmet!
Compare that to the Spiritual Life:
The armour that St. Paul is describing is probably that of the Roman soldiers that he saw every day as he sat in prison. Each piece has an important function, and so he attributed each piece to a part of Christian spirituality. He calls it "God's armour" because he didn't actually come up with the idea. About 500 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah used the same metaphor, describing God Himself suiting up for battle! The thing is, St. Paul says, is that the Armour that God Himself uses to wage war against the Devil, is the same armour He gives to each of us!
So what does God give us?
Truth a belt round your waist. In Roman armour, the belt was used to hold the armour in place, so that in battle, it wouldn't get moved around, leaving gaps and chinks that would leave the soldier vulnerable. This is why it's compared to Truth. The Truth is what keeps us grounded, focused, and sure. Many people today want to deny any such objective truth, preferring to say that whatever works for them is true for them, and we can't impose our morals and values on them...blahblahblah. What that gets you is a wishy-washy soup that in the end doesn't really mean anything. Jesus offers us stability and surety. And from that stability, we base the rest of our lives, our faith and our works.
Our belt holds our breastplate of uprightness in place. Many things in this world make our righteousness seem outdated, saying that morals need to change. Abortion, gay marriage, sex, drug use, and a host of other things in this world seem up for grabs, and we can be tempted to start thinking, "Oh well, it's not that bad!" But when our morals, our righteousness, is held in place by the Truth of Christ, we avoid that attitude!
This fact was demonstrated to me in Paintball. Of all the equipment they supply, a belt is not included. In one game, I was crouching, and getting shot at. The position I was in caused that breastplate-thing to shift to the right, leaving the left part of my chest exposed. One unfortunate paintball happened to nail me square in the nipple! As I recoiled from the pain, another shot hit me right in the thigh! Let me tell you, they hurt! A belt would have held the armour in place, and (while, according to the rules, I'd still be out) I wouldn't have the bruises I have still today!
After the breastplate, St. Paul mentions wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace. Wearing the right shoes is very important--especially paintballing! With the greasy paint all over the walls and floor, it's incredibly easy to slip, leaving yourself vulnerable to attack, or worse, causing yourself injury as you tumble down stairs! One girl who came with us wore flip-flop sandals, and opted out of participating because the staff warned her of how unsafe they would be. I wore hiking boots and had a hard enough time staying stable and mobile! At one point I was running for cover, slipped, and took a shot to the top of my head!
Spiritually, we need to be eager to spread the good news of Jesus--but we also need to be prepared. While the NJB (quoted above) describes the shoes as the "eagerness" to spread the gospel, most other translations use the term "preparation" of the gospel. I think the two ideas have to go together. More, I think we need to be equipped with the right shoes for the right situation. You wouldn't try to reach out to a Muslim after boning up on your reasons why atheism is wrong! You wouldn't try to convert a Mormon by telling him why Hinduism is wrong! Many people train themselves to defend the faith against specific opponents. It makes them highly effective against them, perhaps, but not so much against some other belief system or ideology. Personally, I think it's better to be wearing CrossTrainers. Knowing your own faith, why it's true and real, is more effective than demonstrating why the other is false! Bankers are taught to recognise counterfeit bills not by researching counterfeiting techniques, but by studying the real thing! We should have the same mentality, and be prepared to share our faith with others.
But we should also be eager, not timid. The Gospel means "Good News"! Why are we gonna keep that to ourselves? Don't be discouraged or frightened. God is with you!
The shield of faith. Ohh how I wish I had one of those paintballing! The referees got them--the cool, clear riot gear kind! A shield is the first line of defence in the armour. Is it any wonder St. Paul equates it to faith? Our faith is our response to God's grace, and opens the door to our salvation! Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith, it is impossible to please God! With faith, we can hold firm to our beliefs, even in the face of challenges. The shield works jointly with the breastplate because you won't always be able to get the shield in front, and the breastplate can take those blows. But you won't stand under too many. Likewise, our faith has to be the motivation for our good works. Doing good works without faith as a motive leads to spiritual exhaustion and apathy. Having faith without those good works, and any shot that gets past faith will strike a killing blow!
Salvation as your helmet. Do not take your helmet off! In the spiritual life, it can be a little worse than sitting out for a game! Salvation equals life--that's why it has the illustrious position of helmet. Our head is arguably the most vital organ in our body, and is rather irreplaceable! So is God's Saving Grace! It keeps us in the game!
The Sword of the Spirit. Paintballing without a gun is really no fun at all. It's not much better with a gun but no ammo! You're kind of, well, ineffective to put it mildly. The Word of God is our weapon. We need to know the Word thoroughly, in order to use it effectively! That is why we must study the Bible, pay attention in Mass, and listen to the Church's teachings. These comprise the Word of God for us: Scripture, Tradition, and the Church. They reveal and interpret God's Truth to us. Remember that Belt? This is how we put it on! Knowing the Word is like being a sniper in paintballing. Targeting someone and shooting them across the room before they even know where you are! This is how Jesus used the Word in Matthew 4, when He was being tempted by the Devil. His knowledge of God's Word was so intimate that He could throw it out there to counter every attack and temptation of the Enemy until he had to leave in utter frustration! We need to come to know Jesus that intimately. We need to know His Word that thoroughly!
Finally, all your prayer is an effective weapon as well. God listens and answers, and fights on our behalf! "Never get[ting] tired of staying awake to pray for all God's holy people" is like laying down cover fire, driving back the Enemy so that others can move in and storm the gates! We are not alone in this fight, and all of us need to work together, as God's Church, to combat the spiritual forces in this world!
So suit up, step out, and wage war!
And fer cryin' out loud, Leave your armour on!
God bless!
Labels: Armour of God, Paintball, Spiritual Warfare
posted by Gregory at 12:58 p.m.
8 Comments:
Hi Gregory,
Just surfing through blogs and found yours. That's a fun illustration and explanation for the full armor of God. AS I'm sure you know, it is metaphoric of abiding in Christ. Similar to Romans 13: 'put on the armor of light . . . put on the lord Jesus Christ.'
Hope you have a blessed day.
Hey Loren! Thanks for stopping by! I always appreciate new readers--especially when they comment! :D
It's so true that we need to abide in God--Jesus says unless we do, we can't do anything (John 15)! That's why I pointed out that the Armour that we wear is God's own. He gives it to us--it's not something we can manufacture. But as you point out, we have to remain in it, to use it.
God bless!
Stop by again :D
Thanks for your comments on my blog too, it's always more encouraging when yu know someone is out there! I'll be checking in again. Blessings.
Hi Gregory,
Wow, you passed the Spiritual test! Hallelujah! No greater joy have I than this . . .
By the way, if you decide to try it on your youth group, please come back and let us know how it went. Any feedback would encourage future readers!
Absolutely! Though, because it's a new Youth Group (6 months old and growing!) I might wait until the fall, when we really start getting things going full steam again!
I'll keep you posted!
God bless
(When I do it at a YG meeting, can I reproduce the test on this blog?)
Hi Gregory,
Thanks for your additional remarks!
In the left hand column of my home page, you'll see a break-out module entitled 'The Sufferings and the Glory'. This tells the entire passion narrative, from Gethsemane to the ascension, through Jesus' own perspective (as explained through the Messianic prophecy). I'd be very interested in your thoughts.
P.S. yes, feel free to re-post the spiritual test, but actually the effect it much greater when you do it live. There are some remarks in the 'comments' section of that posting that explain how I would normally walk through that.
Oh, I would certainly do the test live first. The blog is a record of talks after I've given them at meetings, serving a 3-fold purpose:
1. To allow the youth who missed the meetings to keep up and still learn.
2. To allow parents to know what their children are learning.
3. To reach a wider audience than just the youth of one church :D
I'll certainly check the module! Thanks for the tip!
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