I don’t have to work hard to prove how desirable a good pair of shoes can be.  If I were talking to women, there would be no need to say that at all!  What women know about shoes would be useful among any crowd.

(Just between you and me: when it comes to shoes, women seem to have an uncanny knack.  At this point, men usually just bow their head and leave.  There are some things in life that simply say, “Do not touch”.)

But let’s switch gears just a bit.  Let’s go back to the time of Adam.  All that was necessary for the creation of the first shoes, was an encounter with the first thorns.   Simple math: Foot = vulnerable ergo, protect!

Man is designed to require protection for his feet.  All our weight rests on two small pieces of skin.  And these are no ordinary pieces of skin.  They can feel the tiniest pieces of dust on a hardwood floor.  Immeasurably more intense is the feeling of sharp objects.  So we clothe them out of utility.  We clothe them out of desperation. 

But desperation has multiple definitions.  Vanity appears on the scene and destroys everything.  What was originally intended to protect us from pain, became perverted to protect us from the judgment of others.

Soon men noticed how they were regarded by the type of shoes they owned.  Soon, ornate replaced utility.  Soon, shoes carried more than the body.  Soon shoes carried the pride of man.

So it has been, even with the clothing of men.  But shoes receive special prominence.  They have become a reflection of the man’s intent.  They carry him to the place of his desire.  They perform what the man considers valuable. Most often, they are a reflection of his character.

Is he an obscure working man? 

His shoes will show where he has been. 

Is he one who desires fame and profit? 

You will see your own reflection in them.
                ~
There are shoes that scream out “fun”. 

There are shoes that say, “Get-er done”.

Shoes that advertise,
“Look what I own”.

And shoes that say,
“You’d better leave me alone”!
               ~

Boots of pride
That kill with neglect. 
As they approach
There is no “howdy”. 
They carry a head
That remains in the clouds;
Aloof from the pain of others.

Sandals of humility,
Come to embrace with life.  As they approach,
You are their intent. 
They carry a head
Created to wear
A crown of thorns instead;
Forever mindful
Of the pain of others.
He is Lord, and rightly so!

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'”  (Isaiah 52: 7)

Jack me down or hold me up. 

I prefer a leader of latter.

Become like him,

Or reside within.

I choose to climb His ladder.

By His Grace