Gird Up!

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,” – Ephesians 6:14 Yesterday, I explained that spiritual battles are won by putting on spiritual armor. Over the next several days, we will explore each piece of this armor. The first is often called the ‘belt of truth,’ but that’s actually a mistranslation. The original text says, “Gird up your loins with truth.” I wanted a clear way to explain this, so I found a demonstration on the Art of Manliness website that shows how men in first-century Israel would gird their loins while wearing the traditional tunic.  To gird up, they would pull the tunic above their knees and wrap the excess fabric around their waist, freeing their legs for movement. In battle, a long tunic would tangle your feet, so girding up your loins meant being ready for action.