faith unfaded

A missed field goal as the final buzzer sounds. A strikeout in the last inning. A ball bouncing off the rim as the visiting team begins cheering.

In each of these scenarios a coach is likely encouraging a young athlete to shake it off. One must not live with the agony of failure etched into their soul.

In 2014, Taylor Swift lamented break-ups and false rumors by accepting that haters are gonna hate while she was going to Shake It Off.

Five years before that, Jason Aldean sang about arriving in Nashville in Crazy Town:

Roll into town, step off the bus
Shake off the where you came from dust.

The concept of shaking the dust off your feet has biblical roots.

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet for a testimony against them. Matthew 10:14

It is a finality, a separation from those who reject you and your gospel testimony. The implications are many.

First, it is a physical act of severing ties with unbelievers and blasphemers.

Second, it metaphorically represents that such unbelief is mere dirt beneath your feet.

Third, it is symbolic of starting fresh as you witness once more. The filth from the unbelievers is gone, shaken off for it holds no meaning, and you begin a new journey without traces from the past.

Lastly, the act serves as a testimony against them, a way to turn over their wickedness to the Lord without letting it into your heart.

Just as Michael the archangel refused to rebuke Satan himself, you should merely shake the dust off your feet when not accepted by the world and keep walking.

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 1 Jude 1:9

Check your shoes. Are you carrying around dirt you should’ve shaken off a long time ago?