Boots in an "Open-Minded" Society

The Mrs. and I went on a date last Friday night.  Our typical date night will include a movie, so we decided to see, "All About Steve."  No, it is NOT a musical!  :)  The Mrs. loves Sandra Bullock movies, so picking this one was a no-brainer.  Please don't think I am recommending this movie - there were parts of this PG-13 movie that should have littered the floor of the editing room.

Sandra Bullock plays a young lady who makes crossword puzzles for a living.  She has tons of useless information in her head, which she constantly spouts to anyone who happens to be near her.  In the movie, she wears these big, red boots (see the picture above) everywhere she goes.  When asked why she wears them, she gave this answer, "I wear these boots because they make my toes feel like 10 friends on a camping trip."

I can relate to her because I like to wear boots too - but of the cowboy variety.  The Mrs. isn't especially fond of them.  She thinks they would be hot and uncomfortable, but then she hasn't ever worn them.  I have tried to get her to try on a pair, just for fun - and she won't do it.  I think she is afraid they really are comfortable and she might be tempted to wear them!   I am not as poetic as Sandra B. when explaining why I like cowboy boots; they just feel right, and look right, on my feet.

People are very legalistic, even in this "open-minded" society.  They criticize our boots, our hair styles, and our religion - among a million other things.  If you don't believe me, try saying something that is not "politically correct" in front of a large crowd and see what happens!  I can assure you that you will be ostracized far more than Sandra Bullock in her red boots!

Jesus spent much of his ministry trying to drive legalism out of our worship to God.  Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees in Luke 11:46, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them."  Today, Christianity suffers from legalism too.  I read somewhere recently, that if ten people from ten different countries came to your worship service and could not worship God, then we have too much of our own preferences in the service.

Is it possible that we can be just as legalistic as the Pharisees?  Do we expect people to dress a certain way to "show proper respect to God" on Sunday?  Do we get our noses bent out of joint when worship includes certain styles of music?  If the pastor changes the order of the service, do people start complaining?  There are many forms of legalism that can prevent people from worshiping our Lord and Savior.  Remember, Jesus came to set us free!  We are saved by grace, not by what we wear or the style of music we sing.