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I remember the words my dad said, “He just stayed too long.” He was
referring to one of our ducks when we were living on our northeast
Texas farm. It was one of those strange winter weather days, when a
Norther (cold north wind) moves in and changes 40-degree sunny
weather into 25 degree freezing rain in the space of a few
minutes. My brothers and I were doing the evening chores in the barn
when the freezing weather hit so we hurried all the animals into
their respective places and then scattered our flock of ducks,
hoping they would fly from the barnyard to their roosting shed a
hundred yards away. All of them did except one. He was perched on
the top board of the fence and refused to leave, even though the
freezing rain was covering his feathers and his feet. We soon gave
up on him and all hurried out of the cold and into the house.
The next morning it was about 20 degrees and the ground was covered
with a half inch of solid ice. Chores still had to be done so we
bundled up and followed dad on the crunchy slippery trip to the
barn. As we approached the gate we noticed that our duck was still
on that fence, with his feet frozen solid to it! There were feathers
lying all around on the ground and he was flapping his wings
frantically, trying to fly away. With the duck pecking at him, my
brother Dan took his pocketknife and began chipping the ice
away. Finally released, and with a large chunk of ice still
attached, the duck took off, only to crash into the ground after a
few feet. He slid across the yard totally out of control. We finally
picked him up, removed the remaining ice and carried him to his
roosting shed.
Dad was right; he stayed too long in a place where he did not belong
and under conditions unsuitable for ducks. I know many Christians
who make a habit of living their lives in places they don’t belong
and under circumstances inconsistent with God’s
expectations. Sometimes they have become ingrained in lifestyle
habits that can only be broken with great effort and even pain, much
like the ice. When looking in the Bible for instruction about
relationships with worldly things and people you can find these
words in 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Therefore come out from them and be
separate, says the Lord.” Certainly, you have to form relationships
with others around you if you intend to influence them with the good
things of God but you can do that without going where you don’t
belong and doing what violates God’s principles. After all, there
are some places and situations in which ducks and Christians just do
not belong!
Common Sense Application
1. Take a close look at the lifestyle
environment you have developed for yourself. List those places,
people and habits which are inconsistent with God’s best for your
life.
2. Pray and ask God to help you with courage
and wisdom as you begin to change those things.
3. Confide in a Christian friend the changes you
are trying to make and ask that person to be an accountability
partner to monitor progress and help you stay on track.
4. Make a list of quality things and people you
can substitute for the inappropriate ones.
5. Make a promise to God and yourself that you
are going to rise to the next level of quality in your life.
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