Make Good Shoes

There is an apocryphal story of Martin Luther being approached by a cobbler who had recently become a Christian. The cobbler wanted to know how to better serve the Lord. The reply attributed to Luther is: “Make good shoes.”

The principle of working in the service of our neighbor as though we were working in the service of our Lord—for example, by making good shoes—enables us to be Christians even when our work is not directly in a Christian ministry. In my case, I applied it to the volunteer work I did on the pediatric floor of my local children’s hospital. As a Child Life volunteer, I visited new patients and brought them gifts, donated by the community, to raise their spirits and occupy their time. Most of our patients, for example, got a smiley-face pillow, made and donated by a volunteer group, that they could use to try to get comfortable in a hospital bed while they’re in pain. Sometimes they received cheerful pillowcases or blankets to relieve the sterile white and gray of the hospital linens. I also gave out donated puzzles, coloring books, card games, Play-Doh and other games, crafts and activities that could be done on a tray table, because time can pass very slowly when you can’t get out of bed.

Out of respect for patient privacy, I was usually not told what their medical condition was. I did not see contagious patients, as a volunteer; that is a job for specially-trained hospital staff.  My patients might be suffering from chronic conditions like sickle cell; life-threatening conditions like cancer; or recovering from surgery. Because I did not know the full details of their medical conditions, I was not allowed to say things like “I hope you feel better soon,” or, “when you get out of the hospital,” because, sadly, some of our patients didn’t go home. I was there to break up the monotony of the hospital, and offer them something in their day that’s not clinical. I was not there to cause them additional pain.

Also out of respect for patient privacy, I was not told what my patients’ beliefs might be. It was not my function, while I was there, to proselytize, and I did not talk about my own faith unless invited. How, as a Christian, can we function in situations where faith remains quiet? As in the illustration, I feel that the best way for me to be a Christian in this situation is to simply “make good shoes.” My job while I am there is to offer a ray of cheer, a measure of comfort, a distraction from pain and illness, and I will do it to the best of my ability.

As Christians we are not always working directly “in ministry,” yet we are always ministering. Sometimes our ministry in service to your neighbor is do simply do a thing well—as if you were doing it for the Lord himself. Go out today and make good shoes.