"The Best Armor..."

Last night, I had a conversation with my brother about the progression of offensive and defensive technologies through the ages, observing that there were never really any cheap, defensive technologies that could match up to the offensive capabilities of their day, but then my brother said "distance," and explained that as long as you can stay out of your enemies range (which usually doesn't cost much to do), your defense is unbeatable. That reminded me of a quote I had heard a few days before, "The best armor is to keep out of range." I couldn't remember who had said it, and I didn't really think much of it until Mom, who had joined our conversation, suggested that that phrase might sometimes apply to spiritual battles as well. Hence, I present to you this blog post, which could not have been possible without input from all three of us.

Picture a map of your home town or neighborhood as a battlefield. Most of the map is neutral territory (or no-man's-land, if you want to put a negative spin on it), but you'll find several spots on that map that have been claimed by God as His territory, and many spots that have been claimed by the devil as his. Gods territory includes most churches and church-owned buildings, and Satan's territory includes such places as seedy bars, strip clubs, casinos, and adult shops. Also claimed as either God's or the devil's territory are most homes. Some homes are places where God's Spirit is invited and welcome, and other homes are places where the Spirit wouldn't feel very comfortable. In essence, some places have greater light, and some places have greater darkness, and the moral of the story is Avoid the Places of Darkness.

But that's not always possible. What if you pass by such a place on your way to work or school every day? And because most of the map is unclaimed, we all spend a lot of time in no-man's-land. How do we protect ourselves then? Well, in those cases, trying to get to a safe distance from the temptation isn't really an option, especially as most temptations come as surprise attacks or stealthy infiltration, so the temptation is right before us by the time we become aware of it. In those cases, we need to be quick enough to get away from it, or resilient enough to resist it - preferably both.

The good news is that we can increase our defense by frequently visiting places of strength. When we spend time in places of light, some of that light rubs off on us, which can add an extra layer of protection to help us recognize, avoid, resist, and escape temptation. Most people go to church every week. That's a good start. Some people go to the temple frequently - every week, as their schedules admit. I highly recommend that. If you find ways to cultivate the Spirit in your home, do it, so your home can become one of those places of strength. And if you get the choice whether to spend some time in a lighter place or a darker place, tend toward the light. You're less-likely to be attacked by Satan there (on account of being out of his range), and it might help you to build up your defenses for when you're attacked later.

We can't always keep out of Satan's range, but sometimes we can. And if we do, then he'll have fewer and smaller windows in which to attack us, giving us a smaller and smaller chance of getting hit. I might not have called that "armor," as the proverb did, but it sounds like a good defense boost to me.