Articles
Reflections - Boss Deer
R E F L E C T I O N S
Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith
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"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
Anthropomorphism is the ascribing of human emotions or characteristics to animals. I probably was guilty of this when I saw the look on this buck's face as he turned my way. This fellow appeared in a field where a few lesser bucks were grazing. As he approached the other deer, you could almost see them shrink away in fear. He was the boss and he knew it. When he came close enough to where I was hiding, I made a small noise to get him to turn my way. But when he did, I saw none of the looks of fear or caution that usually accompany deer when they hear a strange sound. Instead, he looked very sure of his superiority and almost condescending as he stared at me. In a word, he looked prideful. I don't know if deer can really be prideful or haughty, but he looked that way to me. Humans, on the other hand, possess those qualities in abundance. Pride may very well be the most common sin in most of our lives. And, make no mistake, it is a sin. One of the hardest attributes that we Christians are called to possess is humility. Since we all tend to judge ourselves favorably by comparing ourselves to those around us, we forget that all of us are sinners. We are to measure ourselves by what God instructs us to be, not by what we all are. God alone is to be exalted because he alone is holy. We are not. It is interesting when we look at scripture and see those men and women we all consider to be godly, we see that they view their sinfulness more acutely than we do. By being with Jesus, they were humbled. One thing is for sure, if we do not humble ourselves, God has promised that he will do it for us. And I don't think we will enjoy the way in which he does it. - John
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