Recently a friend of mine took me out for lunch and he, “footed the bill.” There were several of us at the restaurant, but he didn’t “feet” the bill for them. The phrase has a particular etymological history, and I read (on the internet) that “The idiom 'foot the bill' is derived from an earlier idiom first used in the 1500s: to foot up. The phrase meant to add up the figures on a document and come to a total at the foot of the bill. By the early 1800s, the phrase had morphed into today's form, foot the bill, meaning to pay the total at the foot of the bill.”
But why does the bill have a foot and not a hand? Similarly, hills and mountains have “foothills” but not feethills or handhills, and the earth is God’s footstool (not *feetstool), although people usually put both feet on a footstool. It is the enemies of God that will be made his footstool (Hebrews 1.13).
Three of my grandsons are over six feet tall, which probably means they may have big feet. It all depends on context. A six-foot player in the NBA is short, and a five-foot 3rd grader is tall.
Have you heard of someone getting their “foot in the door,” meaning they are at the first stage of doing something different, probably work? If they get their foot caught in the door that is a different and more painful matter. You can also “get off on the wrong foot” and, when that happens, and you may have “cold feet” when you decide to open that door again.
I heard that we can expect to find China’s footprints in our food supply, which doesn’t smell so good. There are also carbon footprints. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, “a carbon footprint is a change in climate attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the world's atmosphere.”
We have gone from footprints in the snow or mud to footprints in the atmosphere and food chain, from impressions and imprints to politics and climate change. The footprints are all around us. Perhaps they are from Bigfoot, that legendary, hairy creature of the dark forests.
Bigfoot is comparable to the Abominable Snowman, who roams the Himalayan mountains, and is reported to have been seen by British explorers. If this ape-like creature ever footed the bill, you might already have “one foot in the grave.”
Do you get nervous when you need to do something new or different? If so, you may have “cold feet” and putting on an extra pair of socks won’t help you. Cold feet may come on suddenly and you may then feel like you have “two left feet,” or you don’t want to “get your feet wet.”
I was once told that I should “stand on your [my] own two feet,” which seemed reasonable enough because I had no one else’s feet to stand on unless the person was carrying me on their back.
What about “itchy” feet? That may mean that you either need some Cortizone-10 cream or that you have a strong desire to travel somewhere. Jonah seemed to have had itchy feet.
Peter didn’t initially like the event, but Jesus washed his feet and the feet of the other disciples. They needed it because they were often out walking about with Jesus, and there were no paved roads or sidewalks. Their feet would get muddy and dirty. But Jesus did it to show humility and the actions of a servant.
Mary Magdalene “took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair.” (John 12.3). She was not concerned about the dirt that would get in her hair nor the cost, because she wanted to show Jesus how much she loved him. She also went to the tomb of Jesus after he was crucified and later took spices to anoint the body of Jesus. She never stopped worshipping him.
In addition, we read “The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news.” (Romans 10.15, CEV) I recall the muddy and calloused feet of the Papua New Guinea Highland evangelists who trekked over hard trails to proclaim the message of Jesus. It was a beautiful sight to those who heard the Good News.
It will also be a beautiful sight when we see the feet of Jesus in heaven: “his feet shone like brass that has been refined and polished, and his voice sounded like a roaring waterfall.” (Revelation 1.15).
We will fall at his feet and praise Him for “footing the bill” for our sins.
Karl Franklin
