Wood Ducks Courting Rituals
John Miller
05/31/21
- Windstream Mail
R E F L E C T I O N S Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith - 5/31/21 __________________________________________________________________ "The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day." - Isa. 2:11 |
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In the section of a local marsh I frequent, I can always count on the annual spring courting rituals of the wood ducks. The females have a brownish-tan color that blends in perfectly with their surroundings, but the males are another story altogether. These fellows have a striking beauty that they love to show off to the ladies each spring. And do they ever. They cruise back and forth striking different poses and trying their best to impress any female that may be watching. It reminds me of when I was younger how the the teenage boys would clean and polish their cars and circle around the local drive-ins hoping to impress the girls. Usually the handsomest guy with the coolest car would win. Pride in one's appearance in the natural world is a survival instinct, but among humans it is just another manifestation of our conceit. My parents used to tell me that true beauty is what is on the inside, not what is on the outside. Of course that wise counsel was ignored by me as well as by most of my peers. The objects of teenage lust were then, as well as now, centered on shapely cheerleaders or muscular athletes. Age eventually helps us to realize the wisdom of what our parents had told us. There really is a beauty in a person's character and a wisdom in a person's humility. Pride and haughtiness are marks of weakness, not strength. And remember, conformity to the values of the world means opposition to the values of the kingdom of God. There is only One who deserves exultation, and it is not us. Male wood ducks were created to strut. We weren't. - John
