Mike Focht 3/28/2025
The armor of God is, more correctly, the armor that comes from God. It is His armor, given to His soldiers, made of His materials, designed to fight His battles. Why does this matter? The armor matters based on whose kingdom we are fighting for. Are we fighting for our own little kingdom in the world of men, or are we fighting the good fight for God’s kingdom?
The armor of God—truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God—is very effective, but only against certain enemies. The armor of God helps those who are fighting for God’s kingdom. These spiritual virtues will be of little help if we are not fighting God’s enemies or for God’s kingdom. Those who find little interest in the armor of God are likely disinterested because they realize things like God’s truth, righteousness, and gospel won’t help them get what they want.
Instead, they are very interested in the armor of men. The armor of men is also a set of virtues that will help its soldiers fight battles for themselves and their own place in the kingdoms of this world. What is the armor of men in our day? I think a description would sound something like this:
Wear the belt of truth, which fits perfectly so long as nobody gets hurt and we are all consenting adults. The truth will differ for us, and that is okay. If we need help to discover the truth, the opinions of scholars, scientists, or social media influencers will help us decide based on which we like best.
Wear the breastplate of righteousness. Righteous people are good people. These are the respectable people who help themselves and their own and even give a little to the genuinely needy. They are upstanding citizens who don’t force anything down anyone’s throat while they live and let live.
Walk in the gospel of success. Hard work, education, and a bit of ingenuity (a nod to God wouldn’t hurt) will bring you to the place where you can have your best life now. What is life if we don’t get ahead? If success is there for the taking—why not have it?
Hold the shield of self-esteem to protect yourself from all negativity. Love yourself. Be yourself. Stay true to yourself. Be proud of yourself. If you cannot trust yourself because you are the victim of others, misunderstandings, or circumstances; counselors and psychologists will teach you how to see the value in yourself for a moderate fee.
Wear the helmet of security. This is a dangerous world. We live in a dangerous city. How will you make your way? Get a college education, stack some money in the bank, buy a home in the safest city and state, and do all you can to protect the life you love here.
Take up the sword of skill. Unsheathe and swing your sex appeal, witty charm, intelligence, vibrant youth, charming lifestyle, and cultivated online persona to get what you can. If you got it, flaunt it. Those who have the most are those who get ahead and win the personal wars for the prime seats in the kingdom of men. This might not be a happy truth about our society, but the pretty, popular, and privileged people stay on top, and the ad agencies spend billions on them because they know it’s true.
Does this contrast help you see the importance of God’s armor? If we are not outfitted in the armor of God, we are not armorless. Instead, we are wearing the armor of men and fighting other battles for a different kingdom. Fredrick Buechner said it well in his book The Magnificent Defeat, “In the war of conquest, that is to say, in the war that we all wage for a place in the sun, it is the armor of man rather than the armor of God that will serve you best; and although I cannot value that armor as highly as some would value it, I also cannot mock it because the armor of man serves its purpose all too well, and because I wear some of it myself, and so do you.”
Think very seriously about whose armor you are wearing, because if we are not wearing the armor of God, we are no doubt wearing the shoddy armor of man.