When Moses encounters the burning bush in Exodus 3, God tells him to take off his sandals because he’s standing on holy ground.

Most of us grew up thinking the point was that the ground became holy because God showed up there.

But in the ancient Near Eastern world, removing your sandals was the posture of a servant in the presence of someone of higher status. It was also what you did when entering sacred space.

So no, God wasn’t just making a statement about the dirt.

He was correcting Moses’ posture.

Because you don’t come into a moment like this as an equal. You don’t keep your shoes on like you’ve got somewhere else to be. You do not approach the presence of God like you’re squeezing Him in between errands and iced coffee.

You come as someone who knows who is speaking.

And maybe part of the problem is that we have gotten so casual with the presence of God that we no longer know how to recognize a holy moment when we’re standing in one.

There was a time when the appropriate response was to take your shoes off and say less.