When I was little my daddy told me
this tale about a little bird who got pooped on by a cow in the wintertime.
Most people would immediately assume that this action was done in malice or
disregard but on the contrary the cow actually cared deeply for the bird and
was trying to keep the bird warm. After all, it was winter time and very cold.
The bird, however, was offended and at the site of a fox approaching who
offered to help him out gladly accepted. What the bird didn’t know is that the
fox was only offering to help him out of the poop so he could eat him. My dad
concluded the story by saying, “not everyone who s***’s on you is your enemy
and not everyone that smiles is your friend”.
I’ve thought a lot about this story
lately and I know that while it is a silly story there is a lot of truth in it.
I think any relationship is hard whether it is a friendship, a courtship,
family, or a professional relationship. If the relationship is valuable and last
long enough there will be good times and bad times. It is part of life and
inevitable.
You can’t control the circumstances
around you. The cow couldn’t control the weather and neither could the bird. But,
you can control the way you look at things. You can control your feelings and
thoughts and you can learn to look at people with grace and give them the benefit
of the doubt. Extending trust and respect for someone even though you may think
their actions to be hurtful I think is key. I think we are all birds at times.
Quick to assume and quick to decide what we think is the obvious answer when ultimately
there is only one who knows all and whose wisdom is incomparable. Knowing this
we should be slow to anger making room for God to work in a way that only he
can.
“For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts.” Isaiah 55
We always believe we know what is
best for us, but in this case the bird needed protection from the cold and
instead of digging to the heart of the cow the bird assumed the worse and went
running right into danger in the form of a grinning fox face. His need was met
but his perspective wouldn’t allow him to see the overall picture.
Bottom line. If you are struggling
with relationships or circumstances you find yourself in don’t be quick to
assume the worse when you don’t understand them or their actions. Give people
the benefit of the doubt and if you wonder about their motivations or actions
simply just ask them. Their answer might surprise you. After all maybe the
problem doesn’t lie in our circumstances, relationships, or actions but in our
perspective.
As for the cow, I have some words as
well. You can’t control the birds in your life. You can’t make them see that
you love and you care and you can’t keep them from running to the foxes. You
are not God. You are not the Holy Spirit. You are not Jesus. You are who you
are, and you are called to love. You are called to have a pure heart and you
are called to forgive. You are also called to have grace and mercy. When the
birds in your life misunderstand you and when you feel like you’ve done your
best and it’s not enough or appreciated it is not time to cut ties, to start a
fight, or to judge. It is time to love and pray for them anyways, to be waiting
with open arms or a kind word, to be steadfast, faithful and true, and to live
in a way that would be honorable to Christ.
Bottom line. If you want to be love
to others you have to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and
endure all things. 1 Corinthians 13 will remind you well.
I’ve been both the bird and the cow
as of late. I have been misunderstood and I have misunderstood others. I think
as people we generally like to believe we are better than we actually are but
God’s word reminds me that my righteousness is found in Christ alone. I hope
that my failures will be used to show others just how far God’s grace goes and
that in my forgiveness of others I will embody His loving kindness and
immeasurable patience.
1 Timothy 1:15-17
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of
full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom
I am the foremost. 16 But I
received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might
display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him
for eternal life. 17 To the
King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever
and ever. Amen.
