I was 6 or 7 years old when we lived in DeWitt, Arkansas. I had been begging mom for weeks about a pair of red cowboy boots. I visualized myself wearing those snappy red cowboy boots on my first day in the second grade. I knew they would be a hit. Finally, mother & I drove to Stuttgart, 30 miles away, to find the boots. I remember the clerk & mother kept asking me, “Are you sure this is what you want?” “Oh, YES!” I proclaimed. This is exactly what I want. They looked so good. Because TV was only black & white, I could not see if any of my TV cowboy heroes wore red cowboy boots, but I was sure one of them did.

I don’t remember the names of my “friends” that first day of school, but all did not go as I planned. “Those are girl boots!” “Are you a sissy?”… were a few of the things I remember that morning. I never wore them again.

It’s been over 70 years since I wore those snappy red cowboy boots. I see life very differently now. If I had a pair of snappy red cowboy boots today, I would wear them proudly! This was a life lesson from God School.

The core issue is, who determines your value? Or who are you trying to please? Over the years I have recognized the world’s standard for approval is ever changing. In today’s culture a person can be “canceled” by anonymous people or organizations without an appeal. The destruction is displayed as a warning.

This is not new. God’s people have faced being “canceled” all along. Paul tells us in Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Paul knew this age-old truth from Proverbs 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”

I didn’t recognize the scope of freedom Jesus gave me the night of September 20, 1984. Like the lady at the well who had been rejected by the community (see John 4) she discovered the true value only Jesus can give that no one has the power to take away. No one! She found freedom. She now had true value.

The One who gives me value was written about years before His birth in Proverbs 30:4 “Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!” Do you know Him?

We are told to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:12

As I look back, I recognize the challenges, the threats… the test have developed my trust in Him. He never left me, never!

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

Your Bible is full of “Red Boot” stories. How about you, do you have a snappy red boots story of how God used to develop your faith & trust in Him?