The Sneaky Fox

Originally Posted June 30, 2021

The other morning my wife called out somewhat urgently, “ David, the fox got the chickens”. Oh boy, I didn’t want to hear that. Sure enough as I looked out over our lawn I saw intermittent piles of feathers and no chickens in sight. My daughter-in-law added that she saw a fox sneaking away with a chicken in its grasp. Wow, I was sorry to hear this. 

So much had been invested in getting the chickens from baby chicks to actual laying hens providing some 10-12 delicious eggs every day… which were very tasty. In addition, there was the daily routine of feeding the chickens, gathering the eggs, the young grandkids bringing scraps to feed the chickens, the chickens following gramma around and rushing to her and the kids when they heard their voices. It was pretty neat. Well, what are some lessons to learn from this calamity? I think there are quite a few. 

The first is that the chickens were valuable to the family and needed to be protected. They cost real money to purchase, to raise from chicks, purchasing straw and feed, keeping the coop in good repair. Despite the work and money, they provided fun family activities for the children and  neighbors, along with the fresh eggs every day. 

The second lesson is that the chickens had a sworn enemy… the fox. Like the devil in the passage from Peter’s first letter, the fox was always sneaking around looking for an opportunity to snatch a chicken…. we would see him sneaking around. ( ref. “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.” (1Peter 5:8) It only took one act of carelessness in forgetting to lock  the chicken coop and the fox devoured them. It takes constant vigilance when you have a sworn enemy after you. 

While there is a real loss with the chickens, we can recover, learn our lessons, and move on for the better…perhaps get more chickens, or perhaps “call it a day”. So when the devil sneaks in and grabs us because of our lack of vigilance and carelessness, and leads us into sin…. there is a real loss …… but we can recover also. Christ is there to help us repent and learn some lessons and in the future to better protect our precious soul from the “roaring lion”. 

Let’s be on guard and make wise choices, choosing Christ and resisting the devil and his lies. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)