Maybe a couple of years ago it was a big thing among "the youth" that I work with as a middle school teacher to make fun of someone's shoes. You'd point at the victim's shoes and crow "What are those?" Those whose parents couldn't be bothered to keep their kids in spotless, name brand kicks would pay the price in the derision of their classmates as cries of "What are those?!?" followed them down the hallway.
It would seem shoes make the man. They are more than protection and comfort for our feet (which is how I tend to see them, with all due respect to my sneakerhead friends). They make a statement.
Lil Nas X, the pop sensation who rocketed to global fame with his ubiquitous hit "Old Town Road" a few years ago has grabbed the spotlight once again this past week, this time with a new song and video and associated shoe tie-in that has scandalized grown-ups across the country.
I won't dwell on his Satan-themed video or the "Satan shoes" drop. Mainly because I feel that we're being played. Lil Nas X's goal was to get people to talk about him, think about him, watch his videos. And most of us have done exactly what he wanted. Shock value--over the top sex and Satanism was a combination sure to do the trick--one that has been used to great effect by everyone from the Rolling Stones to Marilyn Manson in years past. He doesn't care what kind of attention he gets. Any publicity is good publicity. And the more we frown, the more we gasp, the more we cluck our tongues and wag our heads in warning the more curious "the kids" are to see what the fuss is all about.
I'm not so worried about the good kids righteously appalled at the video. But I do worry about the kids who are maybe ready to turn their back on the Christian faith, those disappointed and hurt by rejection and judgment from zealous believers around them. I worry about those holding on to their faith by their fingernails. And I wonder if, in our scandalized approach, we are stomping on their fingers with our good Christian shoes.
I think we need to talk more about Jesus and less about Satan. Rather than obsess over the cartoonish wrongs of the devil, let's focus on the matchless goodness of Christ. We need to approach these issues with calm confidence rooted in our certainty of Jesus. When we are fearful, angry, and condemning we misrepresent the character and the power of Jesus. You might say we take His name in vain. I get it. I'm a parent, and my deepest wish and daily prayer is that my children would know and love Jesus. But I don't know that "freaking out" is the best way to encourage that.
Instead of reflexively condemning out of fear, what about encouraging the consideration of questions like these:
Who do you think would have your back no matter what--the one whose credo is "Do what thou wilt" or the One who said "There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for one's friends" ?
Note that Satan's shoes contain a "drop of human blood" and then compare that with Jesus who does not call on us to sacrifice our blood, but instead gave His own blood on our behalf.
Who limits access to their shoes to less than a thousand people willing and able spend to more than a thousand dollars on the spot, and who has offered His gift of eternal life, free to all?
Who encourages a focus on surface appearance and style at the cost of the self-esteem of millions who never feel good enough, well-dressed (and well-shod) enough, hot enough? And Who loves everyone, but has a special affinity for those most others ignore, disregard, and disrespect.? Who would you rather trust? The one who applauds you only when you are at your best, or the One who is sure to be there for you when you were at your very worst?
What do you think Jesus' shoes would look like? (The same company that released the Satan Shoes released limited edition pairs of "Jesus Shoes" last year. It's all marketing to them). Would they inspire pride in the wearer or would their appearance be incidental, with the emphasis on the work they do--covering the feet of those who bring good news, justice, mercy, love?
What does it mean to be "worldly?" Is it just about "secular" entertainment, fashion, sensuality? Or is it also---and maybe primarily--about cruelty, selfishness, materialism, mockery, a celebration of mortal success, fleeting beauty, and talent, and scorn for the losers, the ugly and the ordinary? How often do we as Christians end up advocating for those very values that define this transient world?
I'll be honest. Jesus is the only reason I'm still a Christian at all. What passes for Christianity today is largely a mess. We have become entitled, spoiled by hundreds years of cultural dominance so that we've come to view our place of preeminence as our due and any diminishment of that privilege as tantamount to "persecution." Our comfort has become the number one priority, and I'm not just talking about material comfort--but our also our obsession with spiritual comfort, with a desperate need to be right. I'm tired of the emphasis on "Biblical living"--our fixation on the Scriptures as if we think that we can find eternal life in them, leading us to fealty to this or that doctrinal point no matter the cost in human lives who must be sacrificed along the way. The Bible is not the source of life-- at its best it points to the Source.
I'm tired of the dogged devotion to orthodoxies that are as much about tradition and our own comfort and security as they are about so-called Truth. I've seen too many "Christians" regretfully cut off people from their loving Savior, just so that they can feel secure in their own righteousness. Too many are willing to "lovingly" condemn rather than risk being wrong. And I'm sorry, simply professing love and having a nice gentle demeanor simply does not cut it, if you have to add a "but" to God's love. I'm not at all convinced that ticking all the right religious boxes doesn't have the potential to be even more deadly and dangerous to one's spiritual health than any shock-value satanic posturing. Jesus seemed to think so too, as religious people were only ones He had words of condemnation for.
How much of Lil Nas X latest creative impulse came from the failure of Christians to reflect the character of Christ? It's a sad day when the church of Jesus has given over the role of total acceptance to the church of Satan.
Rather than worrying frantically over who might be wearing Satan's shoes and singing his songs, why don't we focus instead on seeking by God's grace to walk ourselves in the battered, worn, shoes of Jesus and to sing of His love.
Every time I tried to stand and start to fall
And all those lonely roads that I have travelled on
There was Jesus
When the friends I had were nowhere to be found
I couldn't see it then but I can see it now
There was Jesus
In the healing and the hurting
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces
Every minute, every moment
Where I've been and where I'm going
Even when I didn't know it or couldn't see it
There was Jesus
For forgiveness at a price I couldn't pay (Mmm)
I'm not perfect so I thank God every day
There was Jesus (There was Jesus)
In the healing and the hurting
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces
Every minute, every moment
Where I've been and where I'm going
Even when I didn't know it or couldn't see it
There was Jesus
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