Sometimes it just seems like it’s too hard, really impossible, to stand up
against the assaults on Christian values and religious liberties that are
taking place in American society. We admit it’s sad that it’s happening,
but perhaps surrender is preferable to fighting the cultural battles.
Besides, you usually pay a price for standing up. Is it really worth it? A
group of cheerleaders from a tiny Texas town thought it was. They were
rewarded.
It’s a story that gained notoriety at the beginning of football season:
2012. The cheerleaders at Kountze High School were placing scriptures
on banners for players to run through on their way out onto the field.
This positive spin on a time-honored tradition was just too religious for
the Freedom From Religion Foundation who sent a threatening letter
to the school district. Rather than stand up for the free speech rights of
their own cheerleaders, school officials ordered them to stop painting
scripture on the banners.
It would have been a lot easier for the cheerleaders to back down and
resume the old banner messages like “Massacre the Mustangs.” They
didn’t. Liberty Institute led the legal strategy, but it never would have
gotten off the ground unless these girls and their parents had decided to
stand.
Last week, a district judge ruled the banners are “constitutionally
permissible.” Students across the nation are watching. This battle has
been a Facebook phenomenon. This victory has legs. It’s an example,
giving others courage to stand.
This effort was rooted in the faith of some of these girls. We believers
don’t stand without protection. The Apostle Paul likens it to armor.
Paul winds down his letter to the Ephesians by encouraging them to
“put on the full armor of God,” to “take up” that armor to enable them
“to resist in the evil day.”
When Paul says to “stand firm having girded your loins with truth” he
refers to a belt worn to bind up the Roman soldier’s loose-fitting tunic.
Dangerous loose ends, lies and deceptive messages, are reined in by this
belt of “truth.”
The “breastplate of righteousness” alludes to tough leather reinforced
with horn or hoof pieces that covered the soldier’s torso, protecting
vital organs. For the believer, righteousness is protection; disobedience
leaves one vulnerable to the enemy. Sometimes obedience to Christ may
feel risky, but with that decision, God’s protection is unleashed.
The Roman soldier’s boots had nails in them so they could grip the
ground. “Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace” means our confidence comes from having peace with God and
knowing He is our ultimate support system.
The shield of faith is the believer’s basic trust in God.
The head is a prime target in battle. We need the “helmet of salvation”
because Satan is always playing head-games with our assurance of
salvation, and sowing doubt and discouragement.
Believing saint, when it’s time to stand, remember the armor.