What Kind of Shoes Are You Wearing to Church?

Who is the minister talking to this week? Are your “shoes” protecting you from any chance that your toes might get stepped on?

Have you ever sat in church thinking how the message applies to others? The minister is sure talking to “Karen” today, we might think. I wonder if she is listening. I am sorry that he is being so hard on her.

We come out of services thinking that it was a good sermon. We feel good; the scriptures were right on for some of the problems that different ones in our congregation are having. We say to ourselves, “I hope Karen heard that because she really has problems in that area!”

Why are we here?

Stop! Wait just a minute now … Why do we go to church? To hear what was needed for Karen? Or do we go to hear God’s Word and to have time to fellowship with those who are of like mind?

And what were we trying to get out of the services? Were we hoping to feel good at the end of services? Were we looking to find ways to live our lives better to get us through the next week? Month? Year? Are we seeking to learn something from God’s plan that we didn’t know or that we thought we knew? Are we striving to develop a deeper relationship with God and our fellow brethren?

When we come to services, we pray that God will inspire the speakers to bring across a message that has something in it for everyone and that the ears of all will be open.

We should be going to services every week to find something for ourselves, to help us change and grow. (If Karen does need the help that we think she does, how about praying and even fasting for her?)

Choose your “shoes”

Pray that you will wear the right “shoes” to church, since your toes may get stepped on. By that I mean, how much can you find in the service that is meant just for you? Is the minister stepping on your toes (not someone else’s)?

• Should you wear heels with pointed toes so if the minister gets close to your faults, you can kick the words away?
• What about a heavy pair of snow boots? That way if he steps on your toes, the boots will soften the blow so it doesn’t hurt that much.
• And what about the days when you really need to wear steel-toed shoes, so when he is coming down on you, your foot is protected?

The bottom line is that we each should get something out of the service for ourselves, not that every week the minister will be stomping on our feet. Some messages are guiding and leading, while some are tapping us on the shoulder and telling us to move in a new direction. There will be times when we are taken by the hand and pulled/pushed into the direction that is correct. Whatever the case, it’s always up to us to make the changes.

So when the minister says something and our mind starts to think about “Karen” and how the minister is talking to her—we need to stop and focus. What is being said is more than likely being spoken to us.

We need to be sure that we have the correct shoes on—the teachable shoes. Coming out of services with sore toes will remind us of what we need to address during the coming week.

Mary Jordan and her husband, Jim, live in Virginia and attend the Williamsburg, Virginia, congregation.