June 23, 2023
While thy holy walking loseth thee some love from the world, it gains thee the more reverence and honour… O Christians, do some singular thing — what the best of your merely civil neighbors cannot do — and you sit sure in the throne of their consciences, even when they throw you out of their hearts and affections.
William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour
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This quote comes from the author’s discussion of the breastplate of righteousness. This piece of the armour represents living in a holy and righteous manner. He states that Satan will try to get us to discard our breastplate with three strategies: 1) convincing us the breastplate hinders our pleasure in life, 2) telling us it will be detrimental to our worldly profits, and 3) scaring us with the opposition and backlash we will receive from the world for walking righteously. The quote above is regarding point three, and he argues that it may be true you will lose some love from the world; however, you will gain their respect and honor if you don’t stoop to their level. We have all faced this at one time or another, when you feel pressure from your peers to cave to some sin, and by doing so, you know you will receive their love; however, you will sacrifice their respect. By being above this sin, they may outwardly hate you, but deep down, they will respect you because their conscience knows you have chosen the righteous path.