Taking the Bull By the Horns

Today I came across a story that I thought was so succinct and powerful that I needed to share it with you.

In Tom Davis' book Confessions of a Good Christian Guy:  The Secrets Men Keep and the Grace that Saves Them there is a great story about how God has ordered life in ways that really work.  Here is the brief anecdote:
"I heard recently about a herd of elephants in Africa.  Because of a regional drought, all of the older male bull elephants in this particular herd had died.  Young male elephants ran everything.  It didn't take long before these young elephants were totally out of control.  They started ripping up trees, destroying villages, and killing people.  Nobody knew what to do.  Some zoologists were called in to study the elephants.  They determined that there was only one thing to be done.  They found some older bull elephants from another herd and transported them into this group via helicopters.  The zoologists reported that the older elephants stood around a few minutes to assess the situation.  They saw how out of control the younger bull elephants were.  Then they acted swiftly, immediately pinning the younger elephants to the ground with their heads.  Try as they might, the younger elephants couldn't get up because the older elephants held them to the ground.  This went on for hours.  The older elephants were showing the younger elephants who the bosses were.  In a sense, the older elephants were fathering the younger ones."

This is such a vivid story that reveals the importance of leaders and of fathers.  Many of you have probably heard about the movie Courageous that is currently in theatres.  This show is touted by many as a powerful expression of fatherhood and fathers' irreplaceable role in families.  I think our culture has done a great job of reducing men and their roles as leaders to the point that many men don't even know how to "stand" without offending someone.

Maybe we could take a lesson from the elder elephants that weren't willing take the "bull" that they saw happening around them.  I was so impressed with how they were able to assess the situation, and did so with clarity and then acted decisively to overcome the problems. 

I hope for that same kind of clarity that men could understand their God-given roles and the strength that God gives them to live it out loud!

Heavenly Father bless fathers everywhere today with your heart, your strength, your understanding, your ability, and your humility to stand as your men.  Thank you that you have ordered life in such a way that makes sense--help us all to see it.

BT