A taste for shoes

Today's readings:
Psalm 41, 52, Genesis 37:1-11, 1 Corinthians 1:1-19, Mark 1:1-13

"You've got simple chronic halitosis".... it was a tag-line for mouthwash. A person with dragon-breath would have some green smoke come out their mouths. The poor person next to them would make a nasty face and tell them they have bad-breath. 

I've got a disease in the same family:
simple chronic pedi-tosis, or foot-in-mouth-breath

We all have it, we all put our foots in our mouths, don't we?

How do we contract this disease? Folks say it's because we speak before we think. Words fly out our mouths unrestricted by common (or un-common) sense. 

I think we have foot-breath because the thoughts spring from our sole, not our heads. Emotions are hard to tie up, they never heel. (sorry, couldn't help the pun). But it is truth, the heart is burning passion and the tongue the its escape. It can cause a world of problems.

But foot-breath can also smell really sweet.
How?
It depends on what we are walking in;

If we walk in love, as Christ loved us, then our feet will be a pleasing aroma. When we speak from our hearts, it will be like a shot of air-freshener in a teenage-sneaker.

If, however, we walk in darkness, things that don't please Lord, then our feet will smell like we romped barefoot through the dog park. When we speak from our hearts, it will reek.

No I am not advocating not thinking about your words! An unexamined life is not worth living! I am saying is that if we watch where we walk it will help keep what is in our heart sweet.

In today's reading we see in the Psalms that David sang love songs, and Paul sang of the Cross. David and Paul both walked with God. If you read the life stories of these men you will see that they both got themselves into so seriously deep doo-doo with God.

But then the beautiful happened. God met them in the mire, and He will meet us too. He bathed them from the inside-out so that the words that came from their new hearts were sweet and full of life.

We can keep our feet clean for awhile, but we will always make mistakes. The only cure for simple chronic pedi-tosis, is a clean heart. And only God can do that.

“‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. 

I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. 

I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. 

I’ll remove the stone heart from your body 

and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. 

I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you 

and live by my commands. 

You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. 

You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!

Amen