The Belt of Truth

Jim and Bob learn about...

...The Belt of Truth

(Puppets up)

Jim: Hey Bob!

Bob: Hey Jim! Whatcha doing?

Jim: Oh, I’m just reading this story: King Arthur and the Round Table.

Bob: What’s that?

Jim: It’s awesome! There are knights, and swords, and armor, and…um…swords…

Bob: You already said swords.

Jim: Oh.

Bob: But you know what’s crazy?

Jim: Me?

Bob: Yes, but you know what else is crazy?

Jim: …You?

Bob: No! What’s crazy is the fact that I was just reading about armor and swords, too!

Jim: Wow, really? What book were you reading?

Bob: The Bible.

Jim: Wait, what?! There are swords and armor in the BIBLE?!

Bob: Yep. Want to hear about it?

Jim: Sure!

Bob: All right! Ok, so, this isn’t really a story as much as it is a lesson, but it’s still super interesting!

Jim: Ok! That’s fine with me.

Bob: We’ll start in Ephesians chapter 6. Verses 10-11 read: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Jim: HOLD UP! TIME OUT! REVERSE! BACKTRACK! REWIND!

Bob: (Sigh) What is it?

Jim: Three questions!

Bob: Ok, what are they?

Jim: #1: Who is writing this, and who is this written to?

Bob: This book of the Bible, Ephesians, is a letter written by Paul. He was writing to the church at Ephesus, giving them advice on how to live their Christian lives.

Jim: Alright. #2: What are these verses talking about?

Bob: These verses were advice for the church to take up the Armor of God.

Jim: Which is…?

Bob: The Armor of God isn’t actual armor, like a helmet and breastplate. These are things that Christians use to protect themselves from the SPIRITUAL attacks of the devil.

Jim: OOOOHHH. Ok. That makes sense!

Bob: …What was your third question?

Jim: My what? My-OH! Yeah! I had three questions! Right. Ok. #3: Are there any Narwhals in this lesson?

Bob: Nar-whats?

Jim: Narwhals. They’re like whales, but they have unicorn horns.

Bob: Uh, no. No narwhals.

Jim: Rats! Oh well.

Bob: So, today, I want to tell you about the first piece of armor that Paul mentions: the Belt of Truth.

Jim: The what of what?

Bob: It’s first mentioned in Ephesians 6, and verse 14. The verse says: “Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth…” The verse continues on after that, but it goes into another piece of armor, and we’re just talking about the belt today.

Jim: So, what exactly IS the belt of truth?

Bob: Well, it’s not a LITERAL belt, that you can put around your waist. Paul here is using a metaphor.

Jim: How would that help?

Bob: Huh?

Jim: (Holds up a large number “4") How would THIS help him talk about truth?

Bob: (Stares at him for a while) Not a “MEGA FOUR”, Jim. A metaphor. (Mega Four down) He was portraying something by using a picture we could understand.

Jim: What?

Bob: For instance, if I was doing really well in a sports game, I would say I’m “on fire!” Now, I’m not ACTUALLY on fire, but it’s a metaphor! I’m saying that I’m doing so well I’m BURNING up the competition.

Jim: OOOOHHH. So the belt isn’t actually a belt, but a picture, meant to help us understand!

Bob: Right!

Jim: (Hesitates) I just don’t understand what Paul wants me to understand.

Bob: (Bangs head repeatedly on stage) (Stops) Ok, Jim. What is the metaphor here?

Jim: Armor!

Bob: Right! And what does armor do in REAL LIFE?

Jim: Protects you.

Bob: EXACTLY! In these verses, Paul was showing that everything he talked about was meant to protect us. And the first is truth.

Jim: How does TRUTH protect us?

Bob: Well, say you broke your brother’s toy. But instead of telling him that you did it, you pretend that you didn’t.

Jim: Which would be a lie.

Bob: Exactly! Now, if your brother finds out that you DID do it, how would he feel?

Jim: …Mad?

Bob: Maybe. But I think mostly he’d be sad that you lied to him. And he might not be able to trust you for a while. If you had just told him the truth, you would’ve just told the truth the first time, you could’ve kept that trust instead.

Jim: But what if you get away with it?

Bob: You can’t.

Jim: WHAT?! You can NEVER get away with lying to your sibling?! Are you saying that your siblings are ALWAYS watching EVERYTHING you do?!

Bob: No, Jim. But someone else is. Can you guess who?

Jim: (If we have the Thinking Cup, we’ll add that) …Will Smith?

Bob: No, Jim.

Jim: Matthew McConughey?

Bob: NO, Jim.

Jim: (Thinks) NARWHAL PHIL!

Bob: Narwhal Phil?

Jim: He’s one of my imaginary narwhal friend! Me and him led the muffin army to victory in the third Intergalactic Slug Sparkle War. The battle of Gonzola Gonzola Mountain was incredible.

Bob: (Stares at Jim for a very long time) He’s your imaginary WHAT, who led the WHAT to WHAT in the WHAT?!

Jim: He’s one of my imaginary-

Bob: Don’t even bother repeating it. The answer to the question was God!

Jim: Great! What was the question?

Bob: Remember?! You were asking who is always watching you, no matter what you do. It’s God! If you break your brother’s toy, he may never find out it’s you. But God will know. And that will make him very sad.

Jim: Huh. I wouldn’t want to make God sad.

Bob: Exactly! Which is why we have the Bible, and the Armor of God! The Bible tells us how to live, and it also gives us the Armor of God, which can protect us from the devil, and stop us from doing things like lying, with the belt of truth.

Jim: I never thought of it like that. Thanks for telling me about the Belt of Truth, Bob!

Bob: No problem, Jim!

Jim: Now I better go tell Georgie that it was me that threw a turtle into his backyard, and not Narwhal Jeff.

Bob: Narwhal Jeff?

Jim: He was my vice president after me and him took over the icy desert of Galabalataladala. He is also-

Bob: (Sigh) I don’t want to know. But you should definitely go tell your friend the truth.

Jim: Ok. (Turns away from Bob) Georgie, I threw the turtle into your yard. I’m sorry. (Turns back)Done.

Bob: (Facepalms) Georgie is imaginary too.

Jim: Yep! (Nods)

Bob: (Shakes his head) Ok. Bye Jim! I’ll see you tomorrow!

Jim: Bye Bob!

END SKIT