No sooner had I written the previous post that, yep, you guessed it, on the very next walk one of my shoes sprang a leak, developed “a hole in the sole” as that previously-published post put it.  So I just bought a new pair.  And it hit me that I always  have the exact same conundrum when replacing my shoes:  even though I usually wear the old ones down to the nitty-gritty, thus making it absolutely necessary to replace them, I still hate the notion of putting on the new pair that very first time – because I know that they’ll no longer be sparkling clean.  (Nor smell brand new. 🙁 ).  I know that just the act of wearing them is going to get them dirty, to kick off that unavoidable process.

But just as quickly as that initial thought hits me each time I replace my sneakers, this one immediately follows and even more strongly:  because walking or biking is my only means/mode of transportation since selling my only vehicle a year or two ago so I could finish building this website so anyone anywhere can track my progress each step of the way in memorizing the entire Bible, the follow-on thought each time is that I won’t be able to accomplish the things I need to – the things the Lord wants me to – unless  I replace the tattered old pair of shoes with new ones.

And that’s exactly the principle perfectly and precisely and picturesquely painted in Proverbs 14:4!

• “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox.”

New and shiny is fine.  Used and productive is far better.
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