Have you ever heard the term “feet of clay?” What in the world does that mean? It’s a term that came out of an ancient account of a dream. It was a dream experienced by a very, very powerful and proud king. It was a dream meant to show him the future. This king had succumbed to the temptation that is peculiar to those in positions of power. He became proud and full of himself. He became an unreasonable despot. He was so powerful that he could get away with just about anything. He was emotionally volatile, too. That’s a dangerous combination and he killed people willy nilly for any reason and no one stopped him. He had a dream one night about a huge statue. It was made almost entirely out of metal. Note that I said mostly, but not entirely. The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.
The feet were made out of iron and clay. That’s a combination that doesn’t hold together well. If clay is allowed to air dry it becomes very brittle and is fragile to the extreme. So it stands to reason that a statue with feet partly of clay would be vulnerable to falling over, should the feet get damaged. The king was able to find a very wise man to interpret the dream for him. This wise man told the king that the statue represented kingdoms: his own and those that would follow. The wise man told the king that the head of gold represented him and his mighty kingdom. He also told him that other kingdoms would follow, but they would not be as powerful as his and in fact, the last one would be struck on the feet of clay and would topple.
That is the back story. Over the years, the term, feet of clay, has come to indicate a person who perhaps is very great and accomplishes much, but who is not completely good. There is something inferior about this person in some way. The person has feet of clay.
It’s a hard thing when we find out that someone we admire has stumbled. We like to think in terms of good guys and bad guys. We like that so much that we are tempted to deny reality when we learn of the mistakes of one of our favorites. Alternatively, when we learn of mistakes on the part of ones we dislike we accept the failure as evidence of their complete wickedness.
I have a goal to live in peace
I have a goal to live in peace. I want to have peace within myself and peace with others. I also have a goal to help others achieve peace, particularly in the area of interpersonal relationships. I have a desire to understand human behavior, emotions and thought processes. I have a desire to help others understand relationships and live at peace with others and within themselves. I guess that partly is what led to my becoming a writer. I don’t have a natural gift of teaching and I don’t have an abundance of words. That can be a roadblock. I wish I could just randomly hit keys and type out words that describe in detail what I know only through pictures, thoughts and emotions. I’m quite intuitive and good at guessing what others may be thinking or feeling. I like to draw it out of them and then possibly offer back the same truths to them from a different, more redemptive point of view. Often times it comes down to this. When someone shares a failure or limitation they have, or regrets or guilt, the reflection I offer to them is this, “So you’re human, then.”
“So you’re human, then.”
Having been a professional counselor for many years has given me an inside look at many people’s thoughts and emotions. What I’ve discovered is that first impressions can be very inaccurate and that external appearance can be very deceiving. I’ve also discovered that dysfunctional unwell people include some of the most admirable, resilient, hard working and loving people I have ever met. I’ve also seen that well presented, successful people have faults like everyone else. In other words, there is no man or woman who is completely good.
I can’t help noticing how people look or what they have achieved or whether they agree with my values and beliefs. I do believe, however, that I can come to overcome many of the prejudices I have that are based on no better evidence that how they look and what they have achieved. Unfortunately, I find that these biases keep popping up nonetheless. I am grateful that I am becoming more aware of them. I guess that is a first step. I hate the way I have allowed first impressions or one time interactions linger in my memory and then limit my willingness to engage a second time.
What I aspire to achieve is this: to regard others without bias.
This is why I am pleased to have rediscovered the expression, “Feet of Clay.” I have come to understand that literally every human has feet of clay. Feet of clay are fallible. Feet of clay are vulnerable and also a liability. Feet of clay don’t always perform or hold up. Even the greatest runner or jumper in the physical sense can fall, make a wrong move, or suffer an injury that changes their capacity to achieve. These changes are evidence of the fragility of our physical bodies. Experiencing a big change in physical capacity does not change who they are, however. Having feet of clay doesn’t doom them to insignificance or worthlessness. I believe that each person has value separate from performance or achievement. I want to accept others without judgments of appearance and performance. Sure, I will notice the ones who are unsafe and who need to be avoided, but I will not characterize them as completely flawed because they are partially flawed. On the other hand, I will not deny the flaws of good people who do wonderful things and achieve much. I won’t idolize them. My goal is to acknowledge feet of clay, but still love and still accept.
A further challenge is to practice this same sort of acceptance regarding my own flaws. My biggest sorrows are self inflicted as I judge and critique myself. I am aware of many personal flaws and am convinced that there are many more that may be obvious to others but hidden from me. I don’t want to continually sit in judgment of myself, though. I want to extend the same grace I give to others to myself. I have feet of clay. I want to be just aware enough of that to be humble and address these flaws as I can. I also want to be healthy enough to be content with my humanity and to live out of a sense of having worth and value regardless. Feet of clay can be fallible and messy like our lives. Yet they are the only feet any of us have. Please accept yours and mine.