Sunday, December 2, 2012

Don't Count Your Chickens


Catch phrases are something I find entertaining.  Especially ones like the following: “Every tub sits on its own bottom;" "What’s done is done;" and “The buck stops here.” But my favorite is, ”Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”  A retired pastor told me a humorous story recently that helped put this one in perspective. He had a member of his church who was travelling along the interstate when his car developed a flat tire. He pulled over, got out and proceeded to fix the problem.  Opening the trunk he reached inside took out his tool box to use as a scotch to keep the vehicle from rolling. He changed the tire got back in his car and headed up the highway. When arriving home he suddenly remembered he had pulled away leaving behind the box filled with tools. Although he felt someone had surely found and claimed his forgotten property he decided to go back the next day to the spot of the breakdown and just take a look. Needless to say he was amazed beyond words to find the box sitting right where he had left it. Retrieving the tools he made his way back home. A few days later he was working on the same vehicle in his own back yard.  He stopped for a moment went inside the house and when returning to continue his work was shocked to find that someone had stolen his tools. This proves you can never “count your chickens before they hatch.” Just when you think you’ve escaped loss you find out you have underestimated the evil nature of society.  The same holds true in relation to the devil. Jesus said, “he seeks to kill, steal, and destroy.”  You may escape him on the interstate but you cannot forget that he often visits our own back yard. It is for this reason Paul suggests in 2 Corinthians 2:11 “Satan will not outsmart us, for we are familiar with his evil schemes.”  While the enemy walks to and fro throughout the earth, most often he takes his greatest advantage at close range.  It is for this reason we never count him out but we remain watchful especially in those areas close to home.      

 

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment