Righteous Swag

Ephesians 6:14

...with the breastplate of righteousness in place.

The Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate was one of the single most important elements of the Roman armor. If any soldier decided not to wear their breastplate they were asking to be killed. The breastplate protected the vital organs. Many commanders would also wear it for swagger.

Righteousness means to be just or act justly. Isaiah 59 says that the Lord puts on "righteousness as a breastplate" and goes into battle against injustice and corruption, restoring peace and order to the land. God offers us His righteousness and the duties that go along with it.

Sometimes as Christians we can assume that our religion makes us righteous but that is NOT the case.

James 1:27 says,
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Our duties in righteousness is to "look after" which means protect, stand up for, support, and be a guardian of. To act, think, walk, and talk justly. This involves getting involved. No one believes a person to be righteous if they don't act accordingly.

You keep yourself from being polluted by guarding your own heart. You can only guard your heart with something that is as pure as righteousness. To be righteous a person must have integrity; publicly and privately. A righteous person is not enticed to lay it down for momentary pleasures.

Having the breastplate of righteousness in place means that it is secured; not in oneself but in Jesus. It is a command to never retreat. There is no rear defense. Nothing to guard the back. Only to engage in the mission. Righteousness must stand the test of time. It must endure to the end. When the battle gets difficult they don't run they raze hell.

Those who stay true to righteousness definitely have some swag.