Gird Your Loins

In his famed exchange between Frodo and Gandalf, J.R.R. Tolkien has Frodo lament, “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” to which Gandalf replies, “And so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

And what is the nature of the times that have been given to us?

As Aragorn replied to Theoden: “Open war is upon you whether you would risk it or not.”

This is a Charlie Kirk post.

We may wish that the demonic political violence of the leftist death cult need not have happened in our time, but that is not for us to decide. Open war is upon us and now we must decide what to do.

In one sense, we have always been at war. Our adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). We constantly struggle against our enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil (Ephesians 2:2-3). In this war, we do not war according to the flesh. We destroy fortresses of speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

Yet, we are not gnostic. The spiritual war expresses itself materially. The cosmic touches the terrestrial. We subsist in the heavenly and the earthly. We are both spiritual and physical.

A particularly sinister strain of demonic activity on the American left can be found among Tran-tifa, the transexual Antifa-types and their allies. Charlie Kirk was so adept at assaulting this breed of Luciferian ideology that he was murderously loathed to the point of assassination.

Cosmic evil stretched out its claw and claimed a temporal victim. But we know, and Charlie Kirk knew, that if our earthly tent is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1). Knowing the fear of the Lord, Charlie Kirk persuaded men and women (2 Corinthians 5:11). And he was murdered for it. Absent from the body, he is now home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

We wish the demonic violence of the left need not have happened in our time, but it has. Open war is upon us. We must decide what to do with the time that is given to us.

So, gird your loins. This is our ancient exhortation. Gird your loins so you might be Adept, Alert, Adamant, and Active.

1. Be Adept

“She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” Proverbs 31:17 NASB95.

In whatever vocation God has providentially placed you in, you must make yourself capable. Master your skills. Be able to take energetic action guided by wisdom. Be one who is adept.

2. Be Alert

“Be dressed in readiness [let your loins be girded], and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.” Luke 12:35-37 NASB95.

Be prepared eschatologically speaking, as this passage intends, but also find application in being constantly vigilant. Always be ready to serve the Master. Be one who is alert.

3. Be Adamant

“Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth…” Ephesians 6:14 NASB95.

Let the revealed truth of the Word of God make you resolute. Author of The Christian in Complete Armor, William Gurnall, teaches, “Some by truth mean a truth of doctrine; others will have it truth of heart; I think it comprises both, as one cannot do without the other.” Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), God’s word is truth (John 17:17), the Gospel is the word of truth (Ephesians 1:13). Gird yourself with the truth. Be one who is adamant.

4. Be Active

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action [gird the loins of your mind]…” 1 Peter 1:13 NASB95.

Be vigilant to set your hope fully on grace. Do this by preparing your mind for action and by being sober. Let the end-time hope of the coming grace that will be brought to us at Christ’s return inform how we live today. See the work of God and be prepared for the strenuous activity of responding with obedience. Be one who is active.

Consider a few practical considerations in closing.

Use your gifts. Free yourself from the pressure to copy others. You are not Charlie Kirk or Matt Walsh or Megan Basham or anyone else. These people are seasoned communicators with unique platforms. You don’t need to imitate them. Use the gifts God has given you and be the best version of yourself God has created you to be.

If your ability and freedom to speak to controversial subjects is usually a 4/10, don’t try to jump to 10/10 just because you’re fired up. Go from four to five or six first. Use wisdom. You probably don’t have the same liberty to address everything you believe about every topic as a full-time podcaster and author does. And that may not be what your context calls for anyway. Crawl before you walk and walk before you run. And read the room.

On the other hand, do speak up. One of the reasons the demonic violent left is so emboldened right now is because good people have been silent and asleep on the couch. None of us wants to be arrested like Daniel Penny and face the prospect of possibly losing everything for simply doing the right thing. But we also don’t want to be like those who looked away and did nothing as Iryna Zarutska had her throat cut on a train. “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Overcoming evil with good requires taking action through both word or deed.

Seek fellowship. Get connected to your community. Join a local church. Get married. Have kids. Create a likeminded group of peers if you don’t have one already. Connect in person, not just online. Go to your school board and city council meetings. Find a mentor or someone to mentor. Have flesh and blood relationships again.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has served as a wakeup call. As many have already declared, his murder hasn’t silenced him. It has created millions of Charlie Kirks instead. You are in a spiritual and political battle whether you want to be in one or not.

Gird your loins with the truth and stand firm.

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