Bible Reading: Proverbs 6:20–35
“My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Proverbs 6:20)
The man let his wife’s hens out of the coop so they could enjoy a little freedom for the afternoon. He knew the hens would voluntarily go back into their coop at dusk. That evening he forgot to go check on the hens. In the meantime, a breeze blew the coop door shut. When the hens tried to go to roost, they found the entrance closed.
One by one the lights in the man’s house winked out until it stood dark and silent. This was what the neighborhood dogs had been waiting for. Without further delay, they loped in the driveway to begin their nightly routine. First they checked the tires on the man’s pickup truck for the latest community news, taking care to leave their own updates. Next they visited the back porch to clean up any leftovers in Moses’ cat dish. Then the dogs went to the henhouse, where they discovered the night’s bonanza.
The next morning the woman pieced together the sad events from the feathers strewn about. The man was remorseful, but it was too late to do what he had neglected the night before. He studied the coop mournfully. It was not beautiful, but it was secure. At times the hens seemed to think its confining walls interfered with their happiness; but he imagined that as the dogs closed in on them, they thought of the inside of that coop as the most beautiful place in the world.
Life is full of boundaries that may appear either burdensome or beautiful. If we wait to recognize their value until we are in the teeth of the enemy, we will have waited too long.
Walls are built both high and stout,
To guard what’s in, exclude what’s out.
From Paws on My Porch, by Gary Miller
© 2015 TGS International, PO Box 355, Berlin, Ohio 44610
Used by permission
