“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…” (Ephesians 6:13-14)

In a hurry to get Sulojana to work on time this morning, I made an executive decision that I would live to regret just a few minutes later.

I decided that I could not afford to take the time to put the belt through the loops on my shorts. After all the shorts were fitting snugly around my waist. No problem.

After dropping Sulojana off, now it was time to pick up some groceries.

What do I do with the IPhone? Put it in a pocket, of course! You don’t want to miss an important call or text that might come through when you’re in Aisle 7, do you?

Grab a shopping cart. Pull out the shopping list. Start with the Produce Section. Red Peppers? Check. Cucumbers? Check. Spinach? Check.

Hey, what’s that sensation around my waist? The shorts are in rebellion. They are tired of sitting snugly. They want to move down in the world. A little slip. A little slide.

After doing a quick 360 to make sure no one was looking, I pulled them right back up to where they belonged and continued with the shopping. Oranges? Check. Burgers? Check. Greek yogourt? Check.

Oh, oh…I sense the symptoms of rebellion again and hear Paul Simon singing: “Slip, sliding away.” Repeat the restoration to waist procedure.

Cut short grocery shopping. Head to check out. Get outta there as quickly as possible.

Note to self: Never, ever leave home wearing shorts without belt ever again. Escaped embarrassment and public humiliation this time. Next episode might not turn out so well. Do not, I repeat, do not risk a charge of indecent exposure in future.

I thought I heard laughter when I sat down in the car. Sure enough, it was Holy Spirit.

“Did you find that funny, Holy Spirit?”

“Yes. You thought no one was watching when you did those 360’s, eh? You didn’t escape our all-seeing eyes, ha, ha!”

Before I could come back with something clever, He continued: “We were not just laughing at you, Jeeva. We were shaking our heads in disbelief over the number of Christians who’ve got all the armour on–the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—and somehow think they can get by without the belt of truth around their waist.”

Was He referring to the fact that truth is being seen more and more as being relative, even by followers of Jesus?

Was He implying that we are not upholding the uncompromising moral and ethical standards of Jesus anymore?

Was He reminding me of His words: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free?” (John 8:31-32)

After all, they were spoken by the One who is “The Way, THE TRUTH and The Life!”

The truth of the belt is that the belt of truth is what holds it all together.

Without truth, the rest of the armour can simply slide off the Body of Christ and cause embarrassment. Even worse, we are now exposed to attacks of the enemy.

That is not worth taking the risk, is it?

Dear DWOD friend, as you advance toward your destiny, would you please make sure that you do so “with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”