Rationalized Shoes

I'm still wearing these shoes I wrote about on September 15, 2013! If you are a regular reader, you know that within the last year I took a vow never to buy another pair of Nike shoes. I was loyal for many years- Nike used to sponsor my basketball camp and I do believe their basketball shoes are top notch. However, three or four pair of Nike running shoes in a row fell apart at the toe with the tread coming off shortly after purchase. I turned to New Balance and Adidas shoes, with both companies giving me good wear with no grief. And yet, as I looked down at my feet tonight during our Sunday Night worship service, guess what was adorning my feet? A brand new pair of grey and red Nike Dual Fusion Lites. It's just like 007 always preached, 'Never say never again.'

I teach my students and players to avoid being one of those folks who have an excuse or rationalization for everything and we all know them .... and we've probably sailed in that boat before. Well, you might think what I'm about to tell you is an excuse but actually, it's truly legitimate. You see, I didn't really buy the shoes like the one shown above. No, I saw Palais Royal was having a buy one, get one free sale for their footwear PLUS they gave me a $10 coupon. I needed a pair of black dress shoes so the Nikes were actually the free pair! Well, technically, the Nikes were three dollars more expensive than the Nunn Bush Coltons size 10.5s but that's just one of those minor details we can, you know, excuse. And besides, this pair of Nikes does not have the tread on the top of the toes the ones that messed up did so in theory, I can feel good about going back on my promise because, well, you'd understand if you were in my (new) shoes.

No doubt, I can rationalize all I want but the truth is that I did something I said I would never do again. It wasn't sinful in that I took the vow for myself and no one else is affected. Still, it's pretty easy to talk ourselves into things we said we'd never do in the spiritual or ethical arenas. I tell my students the most dangerous word in English might be but. You know, "John is a pretty good guy BUT...' or more along the lines of tonight's topic, ''I know I said I'd never do that/say that/see that/think that BUT...." Fill in your own blanks. Jesus cautioned against taking ill advised oaths and vows and we know the sinful highway usually appears to be the road which leads to enjoyment and pleasure. Just be sure to choose your shoes carefully when you chose the path to take. Buy One/Get One Free never applies to your soul, even with a $10 coupon.

Applicable quote of the day:

''Your ability to rationalize your own bad deeds makes you believe that the whole world is as amoral as you are.''
Doug Coupland

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com