Articles
Hard Hats and Steel-Toed Boots
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13, NKJV).
I’ve always liked pickup truck TV commercials. When advertising their trucks Ford, Dodge, Chevy, and Toyota typically appeal to our sense of toughness with an “I’m not afraid of getting dirty” attitude. They might show a man in dirty overalls wiping his sweaty brow while hooking up a monstrous trailer to his hitch, or a group of men covered from head to toe in mud shoveling gravel into the bed of the pickup in the middle of a rain storm. They make us feel like if we buy their trucks we will automatically become tougher and stronger.
Christians must not be afraid of a little dirt. Roughly speaking, this is the exhortation that is given us in these words: “gird up the loins of your mind…” In ancient times folks in the Middle East wore tunics, long flowing garments which were very comfortable on hot days but not very conducive to running or working. For better mobility before walking long distances, running, doing manual labor, or even going to battle they would gather the folds of their tunics up around their hips and tuck them under their belts. This was called “girding the loins.”
Because Peter is using a picture common to his readers to convey a strong message, we might use an expression which today might convey the same image: “Tie on your steel-toed work boots and don your hard hats because we’re going to need them today.” Being a Christian is hard work. There is much is demanded of us. We must always be ready to get busy when the Lord commands us. So, as the NASB translates, “Prepare your minds for action.”
The word “therefore” is important because it connects the exhortation to the previous thought. Peter spends the first twelve verses of this letter describing our living hope sealed by Jesus’ resurrection, our unfading and imperishable inheritance in heaven, and our faith which is made stronger though tested. We have so great a salvation that even the prophets and angels who foretold it searched longingly for it before Jesus came. In light of all these blessings, there is much work to be done. Now is not the time to sit back and relax; that will come later. Now is the time to be busy.
Interestingly, Peter says we are to prepare our minds for action. Action, of course, is something which involves our physical bodies, but it begins in our minds. Our attitude toward our work affects our execution of the work. If we are lazy-minded, we will do a poor job. If we are hard-working and diligent we will do the job right; it will not be enough to simply do the job, but we will be concerned with doing it well. If we are to be workers in God’s field we must have the same attitude.
There are two other commands in this verse which help us understand the first. “Be sober” means “have self-control.” Sober does not mean somber, but rather a demeanor that is alert, clear-headed, thoughtful, and serious about its work. In order to maintain a “hard-hat and work boot” mentality it will take some self-discipline and willpower. We cannot afford to allow our minds to wander away from our task at hand or become distracted. More than a paycheck is at stake in this work; it is our eternity which is in question.
And that eternal reward is what drives us to work so hard. “Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” That word completely (“fully” in NKJV) means that we must unreservedly, boldly, and unashamedly place our confidence in the salvation we will receive when Jesus returns. That is what keeps us grinding through the sweat, aching muscles, and blistered hands while we work.
The Jews who returned from Babylonian captivity were few in number, poor, and were the laughing stock of the nations which surrounded them. Nonetheless they succeeded in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem “for they people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6).
Brothers and sisters, let’s grab our leather gloves, shovels, plows, or whatever tool the Lord has given us and let’s get to work in God’s field.
