On March 8th, 2023 four students competed in the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest. This contest invites people from Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges and universities across Canada and the United States to compete. Here at the University of Waterloo, Peace and Conflict Students as well as Grebel Residents were invited to share their voices on topics of Christian peace position on contemporary concerns and were judged on topic, content, delivery, introduction, conclusion, and creativity.
Faraja is a first-year international student from Zambia, studying Peace and Conflict Studies and Psychology at UWaterloo. She gave a speech called “The Armour of God: Waging Peace on a Hostile World” exploring Ephesians 6 where Paul calls us to put on the armour of God.
Faraja came in first place. Her speech will be recorded and sent to the bi-national competition. Congratulations Faraja!
You are encouraged to read the other speeches by Zoe, Stefan, and Rachel.
The Armour of God: Waging Peace on a Hostile World
When I was young, I was told tales of great warriors and legends. I recall stories of Shaka, the great Zulu warrior, Alexander III considered one of the greatest commanders in history. In my mind being a warrior came with confidence and finesse. But most importantly, the attire. The legendary warriors of that day were recognized by their armour. Consequently, to me, the word armour brings to mind a soldier, strength, death, war. You can imagine my challenge when Paul states, “Put on the full Armour of God…” (Ephesians 6:11). But, are we at war? Are we supposed to fight? Must there be some kind of ‘spiritual bloodshed’? What about peace?
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9) Jesus said. Peace is in the spiritual DNA of a believer as passed on from God himself, the creator of peace. Ironically, the armour Paul introduces is a toolkit birthed from the gospel of peace, but dressed in an armour of war. Of course, he does it deliberately, for believers are to use this toolkit in opposition to the forces of evil. The direct opposition of good against evil is a struggle. To rephrase Thomas Neufeld, peace is real warfare against enmity. Peace is real warfare against enmity
Before going into details, Paul speaks of the armour aiding us when “…the day of evil comes.” Suggesting the day of the final battle between good and evil. What if it’s no particular day, but instead a time period? As earlier in Ephesians 5:16, he encourages us to live wisely and take every opportunity to do good “because the days are evil”. It is fair to say the time we live in is not the most cordial. What if the struggle Paul speaks of is in our day-to-day lives? A daily challenge against problems of injustice, greed, selfishness, hate! The evils of the world.
Paul also makes clear that this struggle is not against fellow humans. In Paul’s words, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:13). With the world becoming increasingly polarizing every minute we breathe; it has become almost automatic to pick an enemy. People’s opinions on different issues have thrown them into accumulating piles on the left or right. One is either for or against the other, it’s as easy as that! But it’s not. People are attributed to their positions, rather than their underlying needs and interests. Some people simply want to be heard, while others just seek the comfort of tradition. Yet, we want to see two sides of one story as complete opposites. Left or right, black or white. Open-minded or narrow-minded. Either or, never and. But that shouldn’t be. It should not be you vs me, but you and me vs the problem. People could simply be symptom bearers of a greater systemic issue or a greater evil. So let us redirect our focus to the problem, not the person. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood…”
It is easy to be skeptical, however. Some may question this theory. Does it mean culprits should be let off the hook in the name of being problem-focused? Does it mean a rapist must be excused? Because it is not their fault, the devil made them do it. Absolutely not! Forgiveness does not mean permission to resume harm (Women Talking, 2022). In the same way, being problem-focused does not mean ratifying perpetrators’ actions. Rather, it is looking at people not as problems themselves, but as carriers that perpetuate the problem. We must deal justly with the person, and more importantly, look at the bigger picture. As easily as a person can carry a problem, they can pass it on. And so, for every culprit we deal with, another takes their place, and the cycle continues, only until we address the problem itself.
The first piece Paul mentions is the belt of truth. In ancient Roman armour, the belt held everything in place. Without the belt, some parts of the armour would not stay intact for long. In a world where the truth has been held hostage, believers must reclaim it. For it is truth that keeps Godly character intact. It gives our being substance and credibility. In most of his quotes recorded, Jesus started with the statement “I tell you the truth”. Paul recognizes that deception is the greatest tool at the devil’s disposal. To counteract that, a believer must be firmly girded with the truth. What makes deception so dangerous is that the one deceived is blinded and does not know it. Because of that, we must always have an objective standard outside of ourselves to make sure we are not living in falsehood. The influence of deception is making that which is a lie, appear as the truth. It makes fiction appear real. It makes wrong appear right. That is the art of deception. For this reason, Paul begins his description by urging believers to be emersed in truth.
Next, Paul writes of the breastplate of righteousness. The original Greek word dikaiosúnē translates into righteousness or justice. In the Roman armour, the breastplate protected the heart, which was considered the most vital organ. It didn’t matter if the warrior was highly skilled, or immensely strong, one pierce to the heart ended him instantly. In the same way, without a protected heart, we can easily turn away from what is truly important. Ideas begin to brew in our souls that what we think is best for ourselves is what is best for the world. Slowly we are turned to love ourselves without getting to the part we love others. The rule of righteousness is aligning ourselves with God’s teaching, to align ourselves with what is just. The rule of righteousness or Justice translates into the law of love. To love our God with all that is in us, and to love others as we love ourselves, no matter how different they may think from us. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love”. We are to shield our hearts with this law, lest we allow the evil of selfishness to consume our very souls.
For the next piece, Paul introduces a term found only here in the bible, “The Gospel of peace”. Here he tells the believer to prepare their feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The Gospel of peace is the good news message of the greatest pacifist that ever lived and his triumph over death and evil. The idea of footwear suggests a believer must be ready to walk into the territory of the enemy. We tend to surround ourselves with people that think like us, people that see the world the way we do. Paul reminds the believer to be ready to step into unfamiliar territory. We must be ready to encounter people on the other side of the tracks. People that do not agree with us or people who do not even understand us. As a Christian, I have found myself surrounded by people who directly opposed what I believe. There were times I was invalidated to my face. My remedy was the peace I found in God’s promises.
Following this, we are asked to take up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. It is on faith that every believer bases their life. We look to Christ, the author and perfector of our faith. The shield of faith renders attacks of fear, anxiety and doubt useless. The helmet protects the believer’s thoughts and reasoning. One who is saved has accepted a particular way of thinking that must not be compromised by outside influences. However, we must not be arrogant, but willing to listen to the stories of others.
Finally, Paul introduces the sword of the spirit, which he refers to as the word of God. The sword is like the crowning glory of the armour. To a believer, the word of God is the ultimate objective truth by which life is developed. And his spirit is the empowerment of God’s character. Believers recognize that one cannot reach the standards of God without the holy spirit’s enablement. It is through the indwelling of the spirit that a believer is saved, and it is through the same spirit that they can take up this armour.
The armour of God does not call for great intelligence or talent. It calls for believers by God’s strength, to equip themselves with Christ-like character, the character of a peacemaker. A character strong enough to withstand the struggles of this world. A character strong enough to bloom a rose of love out of a harsh concrete world. Let us be encouraged, therefore, to put on the full armour of God, and wage peace on this hostile world that so desperately needs it.