Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (from Ephesians 6)

When Jay and I were dating, I noticed something in this passage about purity.  I envisioned each part of the armour listed, and stopped for a few minutes to picture the breastplate of righteousness.  A breastplate stops arrows from piercing your heart and killing you on the battlefield.  It’s vital to survival.  At that moment I came to a conclusion:

Making Jay stumble in the area of sexual purity was like sending him onto the battlefield without a breastplate. 

This would include dressing immodestly, allowing ourselves to be alone in tempting situations, or saying something that I knew would send his mind racing.  Righteous living protects us like a breastplate protects a soldier.  Why would I take that from the person I love?

Ladies, if you are dating or engaged to someone, make it your goal to help them put their armour on.  Pursue righteousness and sexual purity in your relationship so that both of you can fight the good fight without succumbing to your injuries.

Michelle