What's at Your Feet?
Yesterday I watched my sister give herself a pedicure. Scrubbing, sanding, cutting, and lotion all went into the process. She was certainly attentive to her feet!
Today I read Acts, chapter seven, where a different kind of notice was given to a pair of feet.
In the Acts account of his stoning, we read that those participating in murdering Stephen laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. The language suggests that this was a careful act. Coats were not thrown aside, or hurled off in a hurry in order to participate. While it seems unlikely, the picture is more of a careful folding of their outer garment and laid at the feet of a young bystander.
I can imagine young Saul focused on the fracas unfolding before him. I wonder if he was even aware of the coats of the murderers neatly folded at his feet. Did he know immediately, or was it only after the stoning and death that his attention turned to those who were now gathering their garments and removing them from his “safe keeping”? After all was said and done, we read that Saul approved of their killing Stephen.
There are times when people lay things at our feet for which we take little notice. Perhaps there are times when we, ourselves, let things lay at our feet for “safe keeping” until we know the outcome, hoping perhaps the thing will simply die or be dealt with by others. Things at our feet can be big or small, but all are significant. Cultural mores like abortion, human trafficking, and sexual immorality. Personal matters like caring for the poor, attending to spiritual disciplines, and nurturing relationships.
The things we may not even notice are the things that in the end, we approve. What we let lay at our feet while the action happens around us, is what we condone.
May I encourage you to be careful of what you allow people to lay at your feet? Be careful what you, yourself, are willing to let drop. Be careful of those things you neglect hoping they will resolve themselves, or simply go away.
Our feet are vital to our walk. Our steps forward will be determined by what’s at our feet.
Prayer:
Father, you have called us to holiness and truth. Help us to walk unencumbered. For your glory. Amen.