Do We Really Want To Become A Nation of Zoo Deer?
I just spent a great four days with my 11-year-old grandson. We participated in the Arkansas Youth Deer Season and he was out of school Thursday and Friday so we had extra time together. We didn't see anything hunting but the time spent together was worth more than any deer meat that I can imagine.
We visited many subjects as we hunted, rode the Kawasaki Mule, walked through the woods or sat and just whittled on a stick (anyone need any mulch) over the weekend. My favorite conversations were filtered by his mattress in the top bunk of the bunkhouse at our farm. It was those lights out moments, thinking you were going to sleep, then there was the word Papaw, followed by another question, that I truly loved.
After you answer one, you lie grinning, in anticipation of the next one, knowing that you will soon be disappointed as he falls off to sleep. We started something like Team Prayer I guess. He would start his prayer at night and before he would say Amen, he began asking, "You got anything Papaw?" I would add what was on my heart and we both gave a hearty Amen.
One of the questions was papaw, what would you do if you were a deer during deer season? My first answer was if I were a deer I would do what all the other deer do, try to live and survive. God creates all animals with the same ability and senses. The deer don't have a calendar with big red letters that says DEER SEASON-BEWARE!
Animals have a sense of survival and given food, water and the ability to get to it, most will live up to their full potential. This gave me the opening to say that of all of God's creations, we are the only one with free will and the ability to make choices in life. As a result of this we are the only ones that don't choose to live up to our full potential. There are no excuses in life, only circumstances beyond our control and choices.
I am so thankful I didn't have to go into how my thought processes and priorities would have been different depending on whether I was a doe or buck. We will save that for when we discuss God's other creations, the birds and the bees. I probably gave more of an answer than he wanted to hear. I think he was probably just looking for - I would hide out until the season was over.
A little later it came up again & I said, "Well, I guess a zoo wouldn't be a bad place to be. They would provide food, water and a safe place to live and you wouldn't have to worry about deer season." The subject was then dropped, on to something else. Then, Saturday night at the bunkhouse when the questions had ceased and I reflected on the day, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I would have sat straight up in bed but I couldn't, I was on the lower bunk. My zoo statement. Yes, I would have food, water, a safe place to live and free medical care provided by the veterinarian that the zoo chooses. All that would be required is that I come out in the open to be visible to the paying customers.
If I choose to not be visible, the zoo would change my surroundings or reduce my space to insure my visibility. I would not need any of the senses that God gave me to survive. I would become, oh no, a zoo deer. Yes, I would be safe during deer season, but I would lose my most prized possession as a deermy freedom. I would become lazy, unhealthy and may become too expensive to keep around.
They may choose to put me down. I would come to expect that the zoo take care of me. I guess as long as I remained a zoo deer, I would be entitled to certain things. The longer I remained a zoo deer, it would become more and more difficult to survive if they ever put me back on my own.
A hunter's proudest moment is to bag that huge 10-point buck. It will probably be on his wall somewhere. That 10-point has survived through many seasons on his own. He survived with what God gave him. A huge doe has survived many seasons and has raised many deer. She survived with what God gave her. No one gets that excited over a spike buck or a young doe.
Dominion! In Genesis it states that Man should have dominion over fish, birds, cattle and creeping things. Friends, it scares me to death that our government is gaining dominion over us, a little at a time. And let me say this, I'm not some radical from either wing. I don't care about what party, if any, you are affiliated with.
What started out as simple reflection and light chuckling in a bunk bed turned into pure fear and concern. The first part of the article described my joy of time spent with someone that I love so much, but I am so, so afraid for his future. Will he be able to do what we did this weekend with his grandson? Will he even be able to own a gun?
Maybe it doesn't bother you. Maybe you don't mind losing your freedoms. Maybe you can't or you are not willing to make it on your own. God gave you the ability. Choices. Maybe you want someone to take care of you. Remember, there are only choices and circumstances beyond our control. Are our politicians helping us or hurting us?
Choices. One of our protected freedoms so far is our ability to vote. We all need to become more educated on the process. We need to speak up. I refuse to vote for people that do not align with my values. You learn a lot from a person from their values.
Yeah, that answer of well, I guess a zoo wouldn't be a bad place to be sounded good at the time but the more I think about it, it scares me to death. If we were zoo deer we would have everything, or would we? I just decided that I don't want to be a zoo deer, do you? Choices!