Barefoot

“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”  Hebrews 2:1

Whether in stillness or in movement, I think God wants us to be deliberate in what we do.  This requires a focus – an intensity – about our actions.  This occurred to me the other day while I was doing my chores.  Specifically, scooping up the dog mess in our back yard.  Barefoot.  Now normally, I would be out there with shoes on, moving quickly along on my business of getting rid of “dog business” and not worrying too much about where I was stepping.  But doing this chore barefoot suddenly gave a whole new importance to making sure I didn’t miss anything!  It was not a good time for ADHD to kick in.  I guarantee that I picked up every bit of doggie-doo in that yard.  I was focused, intent, deliberate.  Because it made a difference to me.  Any neglect or daydreaming could result in direct unpleasantness happening to my feet.

So I got to thinking about this.  What if I applied the same philosophy in my spiritual life?  What if I went about in the world with focus and intent, knowing that if I lose my focus, I could end up “stepping in it” so to speak?  After all, the world is full of evil, pain, and suffering.  One wrong step, and that stuff could be on me.  What if I were focused and deliberate in the words that I choose to use?  The thoughts I choose to think?  The places I choose to look?  Reminds me of a song from Sunday School:

O be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little eyes what you see

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear….

O be careful little hands what you do….

O be careful little feet where you go…

O be careful little mouth what you say…

Even in our stillness we need to be focused and deliberate.  Otherwise, we’re just daydreaming and wasting time.  Let’s look at the day we tend to associate with “stillness”, the Sabbath day.  In the 10 commandments, God tells us to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”.  There are two parts to this – memory and action.  We are to remember the Sabbath day.  It is a time of reflection, of memorial.  That sounds pretty focused to me.  We remember it by making it holy.  Literally, we are to “set it apart” from the other days.  Now, unfortunately, we often do that by watching more football on Sunday than on other days, or going golfing, or just sleeping in.  Nice things, but more often than not, they are things that don’t really help us in being still before the Lord and “remembering”.  What about that other time we associate with stillness?  “Quiet time”.  Ahh, yes.  The time that we so often spend listening to music, or telling God what’s on our mind.  When was the last time you actually just sat still in the presence of the Lord, waiting upon Him?  I gotta tell you, I find that very difficult to do.  My daydreaming kicks in overtime!  It seems like quiet time is the perfect time to “take my shoes off” in the presence of the Lord and become focused.

One last thought.  Fortunately, I survived my barefoot expedition in the backyard without any soilage.  But that doesn’t always happen when I go out in the real world.  Sometimes my eyes do wander.  Sometimes I say the wrong thing.  Sometimes I act without thinking.  That’s where that second part of the song comes in:  “There’s a Father up above and He’s looking down in….Love”.  Not anger.  Not hatred.  Not disgust.  Love.  And it is His love that washes me clean from all the doo-doo I step in.

God bless,

John