Protect Your Core

(Armor of God series)

“Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.” (Ephesians 6:14 NLT)

When I read the above verse, I thought of a weight belt--the kind that serious weight lifters use to protect their lower back and core muscles. I’ve never worn one. I don’t lift heavy weights, so I figured I don’t need one. I’ve never worn any sort of body armor either. That’s for soldiers in battlefields or for law enforcement professionals, right? So, I didn’t think I needed to protect my core, since I wasn’t at much risk of getting hurt. Yet, the aches and pains all over my body have proved me wrong. These days, I’ve learned to brace my midsection, to engage my core, and to stay in proper form while doing any activity.  

We are all vulnerable; some of us are just not aware of it. Once we are aware of the dangers around us, we become more vigilant--guarding our core against falsities and wrong moves. We can protect our core by aligning ourselves to goodness, doing what is right, staying true to our purpose, recognizing distortions of truth, and rejecting deceptive directions.