Be a Buffalo
Be a Buffalo
Most people believe that animals can sense when weather patterns are changing or a storm is coming. I heard a description (I’m unaware of its accuracy but it makes a good bulletin story) of how different animals react to incoming storms. It is said that when a storm is coming, buffalo and cows react opposite.
When cows realize that a bad storm is coming, they run the opposite direction from where the storm is coming. Eventually they become exhausted, the storm reaches them, but they don’t quit. They continue to run in the same direction as the storm, desperately trying to get away, but only prolonging their suffering. When the storm is over, they are exhausted and frozen from hours in the cold, too tired to enjoy the rest and refreshing from the rain.
On the other hand, when bison sense a storm, they turn directly into the wind and run. Despite the flashes and claps of lighting and thunder, the herds press on against the wind, into the frightening conditions. As a result, the bison are able to quickly get through the downpour and are more quickly able to rest in the pleasures the rain brings.
Occasionally, issues in our lives crop up that we can run away from and not get immediately caught in the rain. We often dodge and dive away from tensions rather than meeting them head on. Avoiding conflict that needs to be addressed is a dangerous pattern to establish.
Psychologist Jordan Peterson, describes the dangers of this type of avoidance: “conflict delayed is conflict multiplied”. Unresolved tensions rarely become smaller when they’re pushed to the shadows. In the shadows is where these dark creatures fester and grow, and inevitably, when they emerge again the consequences have grown exponentially.
“let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” -Hebrews 12:1
The Hebrew writer gives us a practical spiritual application of this concept. You can attempt to run a Christian race without directly addressing sin in your life, but eventually, as you get tired and quit paying attention, you will trip on it. The proper (and more efficient) method would be to face the issues head on and eliminate them, so you can freely and swiftly continue down the path. How long will we try to run encumbered? How long until we dispose of sin and address relational issues so that we can run forward and finally experience the freedom Christ has promised?