Shining Armor

One of the defining characteristics of a knight in shining armor is that their armor shines. This implies that they spend a good deal of time keeping their armor (and presumably their other equipment as well) clean, polished, and in good repair. I've thought of several reasons for why they would want to spend so much time diligently maintaining their equipment, and since I've just blogged about the importance of doing the things that will maintain my spiritual armor, I think that now would be a good time to share my thoughts.

When you trust your life to the armor you wear and to the weapons you carry, you'll want to make sure it's all in good condition. If your armor is rusty, if your chain mail is missing a few links, or if your sword is dull, they may fail you when you need them most. Though it takes time that you might rather spend doing other things, maintaining your equipment may save your life. Similarly, maintaining your spiritual equipment may save your spiritual life. It takes time and effort to pray genuinely and to really study the scriptures, but if it helps you resist temptation, it's worth the time it takes.

Also, a sharp sword is more effective than a dull sword. The more time you spend studying the scriptures and attuning yourself to the voice of the Spirit, the more you'll be able to help God's other children, by following the Spirit's promptings to help them and by knowing just the right scriptural message to share with them. The better we maintain our spiritual equipment, the more good we can do.

Part of making sure your armor and weapons are in good repair is making sure you keep them clean. Bloody weapons and armor are likely to rust and become useless, so keeping your equipment clean is essential to keeping them useful. It isn't hard to draw a spiritual parallel from there. When we have anything we need to repent of, we should repent as quickly as possible, before any lasting damage is done to our spiritual equipment. We need to keep our souls, our hearts, minds, and actions, and our spiritual armor clean.

All of this cleaning, repairing, and sharpening has a distinctive side-effect. Equipment that has been well-maintained shines. I don't know if the polish used on metal weapons and armor has any defensive properties to it in that it helps prevent the equipment from becoming stained or damaged, or whether the purpose is entirely to make it shiny, but even if it only makes your gear shiny, having polished equipment may be worth the cost of the polish. Polished equipment sends a message - mainly that you are formidable and dedicated. A sharpened, polished sword is deadlier than a dull one, and if a person's armor is scratched and dented, they're probably not that great of a fighter. Using unpolished equipment may be a less-terrible idea if you want your enemies to underestimate you, but if you want your enemies to fear you, if your want your weapons and armor to work well against them, and if you want to inspire your comrades, making sure your armor is shiny is a good way to accomplish that.

Jesus set us as a standard to the nations. If we want them to follow our example, we had better set a good example for them to follow, and that means diligently maintaining our spiritual armor until it shines. Diligence is not one of my strong suits, but it's a trait I would do well to develop. A knight who isn't diligent enough to keep their gear in good condition probably isn't disciplined enough to be a good soldier. Developing the habit of diligently maintaining my spiritual armor may help me become more diligent in general, and according to Preach My Gospel, diligence is one of the Christlike attributes we're meant to develop.

Yes, it takes time and effort, but for both physical equipment and for spiritual traits, maintaining them is a good investment of time and energy. It makes us more powerful, more inspiring, and more capable of resisting Satan's attacks. In essence, it makes us better people and better soldiers of God. Let us maintain our spiritual equipment well, so when we stand before God for inspection and judgment, our consciences and our armor will shine brightly.