"Check the Shoes!"

Scripture Passage

Proverbs 11:1-13:25

Scripture Focus

Better to be an ordinary person with a servant
         than to be self-important but have no food.
                                      (Proverbs 12:9 NLT)

Observation

When I was a kid, we watched an episode of The Waltons in which John Walton, the father of the bunch, was falsely accused by a wealthy widow of stealing antiques while working in her mansion. Turns out the widow’s son had taken the antiques to sell without his mother’s permission because—all appearances to the contrary—the family had fallen on hard times and needed a sudden influx of cash—something no one in the family wanted to admit.

I looked it up—the episode aired October 4, 1973. That means it’s been nearly 37 years since I saw that television show (I was *almost* a teenager by then) and yet I *still* remember both the story and the “clue” which eventually led to the revelation that everything was not as it seemed. It was the wealthy family’s disheveled shoes.

One of the Walton family members noticed the wealthy family members’ unkempt shoes and remembered that they’d once been advised that “shoes” told the story of a person’s real condition—that (I’m paraphrasing now) you could cover up a lot of poverty, but shoes were a place where cash-strapped people often cut corners, and thereby revealed their true financial condition.

I don’t suppose I know if the condition of one’s shoes is as true a test of financial integrity today as it might have been in depression-era America, but I do (clearly) think of that story still—and was reminded of it when I read Proverbs 12:9 this morning. Both the story and the proverb serve to remind me not to “put on”…not to pretend…not to act as if I’m someone or something I’m not.

That’s different than putting my best foot forward—I’m convinced I *should* do that. But I can put my best foot forward representing genuinely who I am, not falsely pretending to be someone I’m not.

So that’s what I want to do today. Not pretending to be more (or less) than who I am…rejoicing in the grace of God towards me…reflecting His generosity in how I engage and relate to others…all the while without phony appearances or false impressions. May the genuine You shine through the genuine me today, Lord!