Your Shoes Are The Reason You Can't See Straight!
This past Sunday (October 25, 2009), someone in my church approached me about a concern that some people had expressed about me. Their concern wasn’t for me, it was for themselves in regards to something I was doing. I had committed an atrocity, and I didn’t even realize what I was doing. Every Sunday I attend church; I worship with my heart and help encourage the seeds of faith in the young children that attend my children’s church. However in the midst of all of this, what I would consider, good…I had offended, and shown disrespect to the older community at our church. For several weeks now I have worshipped with my fellow Christians…Barefoot. Yes, I know, how much more sinful could I be. The disrespect I had shown was because I went through service, lighting their candles when the ushers had slipped up, and making sure that I had children for that day’s lesson, without my shoes.
When the woman that approached me informed me that some people felt I was showing disrespect, I did what I thought to be the best at the time. I smiled, and gave it a thoughtful second preparing my defense, which was not something that I pulled from thin air. At the time I could not quote the verse but I knew it well enough to explain. Exodus 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off you sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Now I will not pretend that not wearing my shoes is the way I prefer to live, personally. However, the fact that the bible supports this choice, specifically on holy ground, I do believe that my defense is justified. I left it at that with her, telling her that yes it was a personal and biblical choice on my part. She was respectful, and said that it was a good debatable topic and that she would pass along my message to the people who had expressed concern.
My message here will not end with just my defense of my own lifestyle but a challenge to all of those who truly believe that you MUST dress your best for God on Sundays. I disagree, and have a supportable theology backing my position. This is not an attack on those who do dress nicely to attend church, if that is how you feel that you want to go to church, then dandy…to each his own. However this message is an attack on those who feel that God wants us to dress nicely for him on any particular day, from what I was taught he only asks that we make the best choices to further his mission with us as people. Our dress, our clothes, my shoes, god doesn’t care about those…actually if he cares about them at all he would prefer that we not wear the filth of the world into his sanctuary. Literally and figuratively, think about our shoes, they walk this earth and carry our burdens solely. Each step not only dirties them but is a step with the concerns of each day. Why would God want us to bring them onto his holy ground to worship him with that littering the floor?
I encourage you to stop worshiping the supernatural in a superficial way. In looking for the specific verse where God commands Moses to remove his shoes, I stumbled upon a pastor who encourages the same thing! Pastor Bob Turner, of Portage WI, says that the sandals from the Exodus verse represent all of the NASTY in our lives. Much of what I was saying about the filth of the world, and the weight of our sins being carried in our shoes. We should not approach God clothed in our sin, our vanity, or our envy. To remove your shoes is to remove the NASTY from your life, from your walk with God. It will not suffice to simply get a clean pair of shoes, because God doesn’t want you to “clean up your act” he wants you to be in the purest state of mind to receive his word. The fact that they have concerns about the way I dress to church, shows me that they have issues with their on faith in God. If we come to church to impress our neighbor then we are there for the wrong reason.
I will continue to go barefoot in the sanctuary and through the rest of the church, and I encourage you to commune with God, in a way that doesn’t keep you caught up in others opinions. If that means that you need to slip those high heeled shoes, or tight loafers off…then do it! I wouldn’t advise you come to church naked, but if you feel up to it…have at it!
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