Good Shoes and Mattresses

If there’s one thing, no two, that you’re going to spend good money on, let it be on shoes and mattresses.The average person sleeps roughly 6-8 hours per night. That’s roughly one third of life spent sleeping, presumably on some sort of mattress - whether it resembles a commercially produced one or not isn’t the issue. Humans tend to sleep on something friendlier than hard ground for the sake of rest. If we’re not sleeping, we’re often walking or standing - the statistics vary too greatly to put a number on it, but suffice to say, most of us spend a lot of time on our feet. Maybe you and I can agree that at least half of our lives are spent either on a mattress or in our shoes??? I think that’s fair (it’s gonna have to work for me to make my point, so just go with it- lol).I have a married friend who owned a mattress so long that he and his wife would complain about rolling to the center of their queen-sized bed every night. I learned that the mattress in question was like twenty years old, long past the useful life of the springs comprising it. When I heard this, I literally bellowed out laughter, mostly because at the time, both of them had high paying jobs and lived in an expensive home in an affluent area of Massachusetts. To this day, I don’t understand how they ignored the back pain and the restless sleeping for so long. These are the same people who think nothing of spending over one hundred dollars on a single meal, or a thousand dollars for a weekend getaway. Baffling.I just watched a YouTube video the other day where a young man - one with over two hundred thousand active followers - was showing off his collection of sneakers. First, they were all brand name, meaning they weren’t inexpensive (I calculated that this person had spent over fifteen thousand dollars, possibly twice that, on sneakers and had no intention of slowing down anytime soon). And get this, all three hundred pairs were still pristine and in their original boxes! I stopped watching the video after seeing him present just a few pairs with the flair of Vanna White (the famous hostess on the TV game show Wheel of Fortune). It’s times like that when the initial comedy turns to nervous laughter and then finally to sadness, for me at least.It’s crazy to think that some people have access to a blessing, but never exercise the option. It’s equally mind boggling that others actually possess a blessing and yet never truly experience it. God’s grace is meant to be consumed. Sometimes, it’s for the sake of comfort, other times, for protection.If you’ve ever been blessed with a quality mattress, you know exactly what I’m talking about. While creature comforts may pale compared to eternally weighted things, they sure do remind us of the blessings of God. It’s the little things, right? Wrapping ourselves up in a warm blanket on a good mattress is like Paul’s idea of “putting on” grace - God’s grace is meant to cover us. We are to adorn ourselves with it, not acquire it, store it away, and then dust it off when it’s time to boast about it, like an addition to some perverted shoe collection. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:14). His grace comforts us (2 Corinthians 1:4), but only if we put Him on.So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.What good is a brand new pair of comfortable shoes if you never wear them? What good is Jesus Christ in your life if you never put Him on? We lack real comfort without Him. In fact, our walks may be painful due to the rough ground we walk upon. His grace not only comforts us, but it also protects us.Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.Good shoes and mattresses have two things in common: they protect us from the harsh things in life and they comfort us, making our days more enjoyable, peaceful even. God’s grace is the same; and like shoes and mattresses, we have to use it, put it on, in order to enjoy the benefits. Too many of us have full access to His grace and yet we compromise it by allowing our flesh to pervert it somehow.If God says, “Go buy a new mattress,” then do it, He desires that you enjoy a good night’s rest. If He then says, “Go buy a good pair of shoes,” then do that also, for He desires that you enjoy all of your walks with Him. More generally, if He says, “Receive my grace in humility,” then by all means, do it, for He desires that you know His love for you, intimately, through experience. Grace is a consumable item from a wellspring that never dries up. We don’t need to save it for a rainy day like we may do with money. We are to spend it as quickly as we receive it, knowing that God gives it abundantly to the humble (James 4:6). In fact, He is glorified by His own charity - He loves to comfort and protect us - and the angels sing His praise.

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins