From the Desk of Pastor John
Andy Andrews in his book, Mastering The Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success, tells a revealing story about a well-known, wealthy industrialist in the 1920s. This man was said to have single-handedly controlled a vast portion of our country’s prosperity.
With his wealth, this wealthy industrialist purchased a zoo. It wasn’t a public zoo. He had no desire to benefit the public. No, it was his personal zoo, located on his estate, for the pleasure of this one man and his family. National dignitaries were occasionally invited to visit his zoo, but the rest of the population was shut out.
This man collected animals from all over the world, and it was not long before his zoo was one of the most complete collections the zoological world had ever known. One day, the man heard about a rare and beautiful type of gazelle from Africa. No zoo in the world had yet obtained this animal for their collection. So, naturally he became obsessed with the idea of becoming the first to own one of these amazing creatures.
He mounted an expedition to Africa where he contacted the natives to learn about this animal and its whereabouts. Over and over he was told, “You’ll never catch one. They’re too fast and too strong. You can shoot and kill them from a distance but you’ll never get close enough to take one alive.”
This made the endeavor even more appealing to him. He told a reporter who was on the safari with him, “Don’t listen to them; I’ll get as many of them as I want! And it won’t be a problem.” And he did. Here is how he went about it.
When his men located a herd of these gazelles, he would pour sweet feed, a blend of oats and barley rolled in molasses, on the ground in an open area in the middle of the night and then leave. The next night, he would scatter the feed again. For two weeks, he spread the feed, night after night.
The animals, of course, came in and ate this delicious concoction. On the first night of the third week, he scattered the feed and sank an eight-foot post into the ground twenty feet away. The next night, he scattered the feed and sank another post into the ground twenty feet in the opposite direction. Every night, he added a post. Then he started putting boards between the posts while scattering the feed.
Six weeks rolled by. He continued adding posts and boards until he had a corral built around the feed. Every night the gazelles would find the gaps between the posts and would come into the corral and feed. They seemed to be impervious to the fact that they were gradually being closed in. Finally, he watched one night as the entire herd squeezed through the final gap. He moved in behind them and nailed the last board into place. The animals were trapped inside the corral. He then proceeded to choose the animals he wanted to take back to his zoo. He let the others go.
This is the way temptation works. We are drawn in little by little until a fence is built around us. As we enter the season of Lent beginning March 9 with the Ash Wednesday service at 7 PM, it is a useful time to look honestly for the ways we have gradually become entrapped by the powers that bind us to sin and death. It is also a time to reconnect with the bondage-breaking power of the Resurrected Christ.
Pastor John
