Take Off your Earrings!

My wife and I heard a shrill voice screaming, “Why you not whoopin’ on me now? We’re outside…” Lanette and I turned our heads and saw two different groups of teenage girls walking out of the mall. The girl who had shouted was in one group, the girl who evidently had done some whoopin’ earlier was in the other group.

The two girls circled around each other, trading epithets and venom. Their friends alternated between riling them into a frenzy and trying to get them to walk away. For a while it seemed as if cooler heads would prevail. Then one of the girls reached up and removed her hoop earrings. I looked at my wife and said, “It’s on.”

“What’s on?”

“It’s on! They’re going to fight.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“The first girl took off her earrings!”

I have seen many girl fights in my life. I have also seen a lot of potential girl fights. The difference between posturing and fighting is the removal of earrings and other jewelry. I’m not sure why that is, but it is.

Taking off the earrings was a sign that the girl was preparing for battle. Whether she was concerned for the safety of her jewelry, or just afraid they would be ripped from her ear lobes, she knew she didn’t want them in place once the fighting began.

The second girl still had her earrings in place. She obviously wasn’t prepared for battle.

I see a lot of Christians just like these girls. They talk about how prepared they are for battle, but they still have their earrings on. What they don’t realize is that the devil took his jewelry off a long time ago, he’s been at war for years.

I must admit that I get tired of hearing empty talk from Christians who think that being a Christian is nothing more than taking up space on a pew on Sunday mornings. Where did we get the idea that our Christian service consisted of nothing more than polishing 24 inches (or more) of a pew with our backsides? There are men who feel that they have done God a favor by giving Him a few minutes each week.

Christians, it is time to take off our jewelry! The devil is pretty serious about this battle between good and evil. If you don’t believe it, take a look at the world around you. Child pornography, gangs, killings by children on our school campuses, bagpipes and polka music, are all signs of the devil’s work on this earth. Okay, bagpipes and polka music may not be from the devil, but they can’t be of God!

“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.” – Ephesians 6: 11-13

You don’t put on armor to stand around and look good. You put on armor to go into battle! The devil has had his time of being successful, now it is time for Christian men to take a stand and enter the fray. There are many ways to do battle for God; hit your knees and find out where God wants you. He is the General and we are the foot soldiers. With His help, we won’t just win the battle, we’ll win the war.

Taking off my earrings, er, preparing for battle… Jerry.