{"id":15043,"date":"2019-11-11T16:04:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-11T22:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=15043"},"modified":"2019-11-11T16:04:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T22:04:14","slug":"squirrels-and-ostriches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/squirrels-and-ostriches\/","title":{"rendered":"Squirrels and Ostriches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n

\"\"We were casually on our way to the meeting house on Sunday morning. As far as I could see, we were the only vehicle on the road, at least for a few turns. Suddenly a squirrel came running out from the left side right toward us, and \u2026 well, he didn\u2019t make it. I thought, what in the world is wrong with these things? I am the only car on this stretch, and he had to wait until right then to dash out and get hit? What was he thinking? Were he and his buddies making some kind of bet? \u201cHey, here comes a lone car. Let\u2019s see if Frankie here will rush out there and see how close he can get \u2026\u201d Thump Thump.<\/p>\n

It just so happened that I was also teaching that morning from Job (coincidence?), and was commenting on this passage (Job 39:13-18):<\/p>\n

\"\"“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,<\/em>
\nbut are they the pinions and plumage of love?<\/em>
\nFor she leaves her eggs to the earth<\/em>
\nand lets them be warmed on the ground,<\/em>
\nforgetting that a foot may crush them<\/em>
\nand that the wild beast may trample them.<\/em>
\nShe deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;<\/em>
\nthough her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,<\/em>
\nbecause God has made her forget wisdom<\/em>
\nand given her no share in understanding.<\/em>
\nWhen she rouses herself to flee,<\/em>
\nshe laughs at the horse and his rider.<\/em>“<\/blockquote>\n

Why are there some animals that just seem to have no sense at all? They are almost comical in the way that they do what they do. There is no wisdom and no understanding. A squirrel can be just as stupid as imaginable\u2026 like see a car and run out in front of it for no apparent reason. An ostrich is pretty comical, though not something to mess around with.<\/p>\n

Why are they like this? The answer given by God in Job is that He made them this way. But why would God make them this way? Consider this:<\/p>\n

Just as God gives us examples through animals and insects of wisdom and strength (e.g., the ant in Proverbs 6:6-8), so God gives us examples through animals of that which is devoid of wisdom. These are animals that are living proverbs of folly and stupidity. They make us wonder at how something could be so ridiculous and foolish.<\/p>\n

Yet here we are, human beings who are often rushing out into traffic and challenging wisdom with our own brands of folly and stupidity. If we can look at ants and learn something of wisdom, we can look at squirrels and learn something about folly.<\/p>\n

Pay attention to the creatures around you. They are teaching us lessons of both wisdom and folly, and we ought to be learning.<\/p>\n

Consider the squirrel\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Doy Moyer We were casually on our way to the meeting house on Sunday morning. As far as I could see, we were the only vehicle on the road, at least for a few turns. Suddenly a squirrel came running out from the left side right toward us, and \u2026 well, he didn\u2019t make…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[670],"class_list":["post-15043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-fools"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48838,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-drive-through\/","url_meta":{"origin":15043,"position":0},"title":"The Drive Through","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sheldon Smith This morning on the way to work, I decided to stop by McDonald's. It was one of those newly designed restaurants with a double drive-through. There were several cars in each line. The normal process is for cars to form a single line after putting in their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22158,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-driver-purposely-runs-over-a-dog-is-that-murder\/","url_meta":{"origin":15043,"position":1},"title":"If a driver purposely runs over a dog, is that murder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Honestly, I don't know how I stumbled onto your web site,\u00a0 but I am glad that I did.\u00a0 I read through the majority of the \"Question Answered 2010\" and thought your advice was appropriate to the questions. 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N. Collins in Plain Talk\u00a0some time ago.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/poverty-in-Mexico.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36920,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-we-not-to-ask-god-for-what-we-want-to-have\/","url_meta":{"origin":15043,"position":4},"title":"Are we not to ask God for what we want to have?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I thought prayer is about telling God about everything, such as how your day went, what you want to achieve, what you hope for, etc. But now I see that it is not actually that. For example, on one of the questions, I see that asking something that is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42943,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-assure-my-girlfriend-that-im-the-right-man-for-her-despite-what-her-prophet-said\/","url_meta":{"origin":15043,"position":5},"title":"How do I assure my girlfriend that I’m the right man for her, despite what her prophet said?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a 28 years old guy who is dating a 22 years old girl, who just graduated with her bachelor's degree. We have been dating for nine months. I'm a Christian. We don't attend the same church. 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