1 Peter 1:13-15 “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; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”
The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word gird as to tie something around your body or a part of your body in order to prepare or deal with something. The opposite action of girding up our minds is to allow ourselves to be loose-minded which can set us up to often be unprepared and thoughtless in life. People who are sloppy-minded have a limited ability to reason and it makes them silly and sometimes too emotional to deal with rationally. The Bible has a lot to say about this. GIRD OUR MINDS WITH SOBERNESS — Titus 2:12 “…teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.“ (Also 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 5:7) GIRD OUR MINDS WITH HOPE — Romans 15:4 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Also Romans 8:23-25; 1 John 3:3). GIRD OUR MINDS WITH OBEDIENCE — 1 Peter 1:22-23 “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” GIRD OUR MINDS WITH SELF-CONTROL — Proverbs 16:32 “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.“ GIRD OUR MINDS WITH KNOWLEDGE — Romans 12:2 “be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Colossians 3:9-10 “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge.” GIRD OUR MINDS WITH HOLINESS — 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.“