Don’t Leave Home Without It!

Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand against the evil one. Ephesians 6:11

In 1975, the American Express Company came up with a slogan that advised its customers that they shouldn’t “leave home without them” referring to the American Express travel checks! In later years, the slogan changed and evolved into the ever popular “Don’t leave home without it” to advertise their credit cards. Karl Malden was the spokesman for these commercials for almost two decades, but there have been many other celebrity spokes people. As a result, travelers and entrepreneurs alike tend to look to this company with trust and confidence.

These day Christians can feel assured in this world because God also has a guarantee of trust and confidence but with a little different spin. The words might advise us thusly, Don’t leave home without your spiritual armor. If we leave our belt of truth and our shoes of peace in the closet, our breastplate of righteousness by the door, our shield of faith under the bed, our sword of the Spirit, and our helmet of salvation behind us, before long the world of today will try deter us from our mission.

Each piece of the Christian’s armor serves a purpose. The belt protects the stomach, keeps all the other pieces in place, and it offers a place for the sword. The helmet protects the head from blows, and the shoes protect the feet from spikes and traps. The breastplate and shield protect the body from arrows and thrusts from a spear or sword. All of this protects when we are asked to do battle with others who are probably equipped with the same things.

In this world of political and social unrest, we need to remember don’t leave home without the armor because each piece has relevance. The belt of truth reminds us to align our lives with God’s word. The breastplate of righteousness describes the change in our lives when Jesus comes into it. The shield of faith protects us from attacks from the evil one. The helmet of salvation represents our mind becoming like that of Christ. The sword of the spirit is our offensive weapon of the Word of God. The armor is not meant to be used without all the pieces. so don’t leave home without all of it.

Paul described the different pieces of a Roman soldier’s armor, and we’ve all seen pictures depicting the way they must have looked wearing it. The one thing he doesn’t mention is the armor for the soldier’s back. There was a reason for that. There was no retreat, if they did, their back was exposed. The omission of that piece of the armor was supposed to keep the soldiers facing the enemy.

In our world of today, many of us have forgotten that our backs are exposed to the evil going on all around us. We like to think that we are prepared for things that are happening all around us, but we are not. We have let our guard down, and we have left home without wearing the full armor of God. At any given time we are vulnerable.

Sadly, we Christians have lived long enough to see the way political correctness has influenced our world by dictating that we must avoid saying anything that offends others. We all need a spiritual wake up call from time to time. We know what we have been taught, but it often takes a shot in the back to remind us.

There is a tale about a boy who comes home from school and doesn’t know his mom is visiting with their minister. He carries a dead rat in his hand. “Mom,” he says, “you’ll never guess what! There was a rat running around in the garage. I saw it, threw a stone, and hit it. It just lay there, so I went over and stomped on it. Then I picked it up and hurled it against the wall.” At that moment he sees the minister , and his mom’s face, so he adds in a pious voice, “And then, the dear Lord called him home.”

Remember to watch your back and understand that God has provided the armor, and we trust that what He has given us is all we need. The fight we are in with the evil one is spiritual, so no tangible weapons will can be effectively used in the battle against him. Suit up with your spiritual armor every day, and don’t leave home without it!