CHAPTER 1
Understanding the Eagle Mentalityvs. the Chicken Mentality
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings as eagles;they shall run and not be weary;and they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
The Bible, God's inspired Word, is powerful,motivational, life transforming and at timesmind-boggling. What I love most about the Bible isthat it is always relevant to our situation and crossesthe barrier of time. It has survived changes incultures, norms, practices, ideologies, worldview andkingdoms. In it, one finds the answers to the mostcomplex challenges in life. It is composed of prose,poetry, history, theology, personal letters and muchmore.
Through the Bible, God speaks directly to His people.In fact, the Bible is the primary way through which theLord speaks to the heart of His children. The Bible isuseful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and trainingin righteousness (II Timothy 3:16). When God speaksto us through His Word, He uses literary devices thatmake His thoughts easier to understand. Parables areone such device. Parables are short allegorical storiesdesigned to illustrate or teach some truth, religiousprinciple, or moral lesson. Simply put, parables areheavenly truth with earthly significance.
In many cases in the Bible, the explanations ofparables are given after the parables, for example,the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-23). At othertimes, the parables appear to be complex and offerlittle or no accompanying explanation. An excellentexample is when the prophet Nathan tells David aparable of a rich man who steals a poor man's lamb(II Samuel 12:1-24). In the cases where we are notprovided an explanation, we should pray for God togive us His "eyes" to see into the supernatural, earsto "hear" what the Lord is saying, and the mind tocomprehend the spiritual implications.
The apparent complexity of a parable shouldnot discourage us from seeking its meaning andsignificance. It is a unique way of painting pictureswith words. It is guaranteed that when we approachGod with the willingness to listen, He will make knownHis will. The Bible declares in Psalms 25:9, "He guidesthe humble in what is right and teaches them His way."We are warned in Scripture that if we have "blinded"eyes, "heavy" ears and "dull" hearts, we will be unableto repent and be forgiven. Praise God that He has notshut our ears, eyes and heart to His truth. Even whendifficult parables are given without an explanation,God's Spirit is able to communicate to us the truemeaning of the parable.
As we read the parables, we notice that Godlikens (associates or compares) His people with manythings. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), Hecompares believers to salt and light. He says, "You arethe salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,how can it be made salty again? It is no longer goodfor anything, except to be thrown and trampled bymen. You are the light of the world. A city on a hillcannot be hidden."
In John 15:1-17, we are compared to branches ona vine that the Father prunes in order for them tobecome fruitful. In Psalms 1, the Bible says that thegodly are like trees planted by the streams of waterwhich yields fruit in season and whose leaf does notwither. In John 10:11, Jesus said that He is the goodshepherd and we are His sheep. Isaiah 53:6, says,"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us hasturned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Himthe iniquity of us all." In II Timothy, we are encouragedto be like good soldiers as we endure suffering.
It is therefore irrefutable that God uses parables topaint pictures in our minds about how He expects usto live and how to fully employ the skills, abilities andresources He has made available to us. Salt seasonsfood, light shines, branches produce fruit, sheep hearand follow their master, soldiers obey orders andendure hardship while seeking to accomplish at allcost their assigned mission. God has chosen to usethe literary technique of simile (a figure of speech thatindirectly compares two different things by employingthe words "like", "as", or "than") comparing humansto items such as salt, light, branches and so forth.The challenge is that, in some instances, we are notfully aware of the function, ability, skill, and value ofwhat we are likened to, and therefore we fail to graspthe message and meaning of what the Lord is tryingto convey to us. Consequently, we read but do notunderstand and therefore cannot take hold of whatGod has destined for us before the foundation of theworld.
Before going further, allow me to illustrate thepoint that I want to make. In Proverb 6:6, the Biblesays, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its waysand be wise!" Later on in Proverb 30:25, the Word ofGod declares, "Ants are creatures of little strength,yet they store up their food in the summer." Do yousee the implication? God wants us to learn from ants.Even though they are small, insignificant, nuisance,destructive, disliked and unappreciated, yet there arethings God wants us to learn from them. Those whostudy ants (myrmecologists) have remarked that if weapply some of the simple principles ants apply daily;our lives would never be the same. Allow me to sharefour apparent principles with you.
The first principle learned from ants is that ofperformance. In order to perform with efficiency,there must be a plan and there must be fullparticipation. When you watch a column of ants, youquickly realize that the ants seem to have a plan andthere is full participation on the part of every ant. Theant colony is a community. Very seldom do you see anant by itself. They work together to build colonies thatare up to 35 feet below the ground. Because of theirpartnership, the ants are able to build a city in whichthere is a complex network of rooms, designated forvarious activities. This concept sharply contradicts ourWestern ideology of individualism. Ants, irrespective ofsize, shape or color, live together as a family and workcooperatively as a team to accomplish colony-widegoals. The question is, "Are we as 'colony–minded' asthe ants, cooperating with others for common goals?"It is worth noting that a single ant is ineffective, weak,lazy and vulnerable; but a colony of ants is a force tobe reckoned with.
The second principle learned from the ant ispartnership. The ant colony is a community thatworks together for the greater good of all the ants.Indeed, there is sharing of food, facilities, and takingcare of the younger ones. If you harass or try to kill anant, the others will attack you, no matter what goodreason you think you had (he was getting into yourfood or biting you). With no questions asked, theirprimary goal is to collaborate with the ant whose lifeis threatened to ensure his (and the colony's) survival.Similarly, when an ant is struggling to carry a load,other ants do not sit back and laugh, castigate, gossip,or wait for him to fail before coming to his rescue. Theyimmediately come to the aid of the struggling ant.Do you do the same for members of your family andthose who God has brought into your life? When wasthe last time you helped someone bear a heavy loadwhom you thought did not deserve help? When wasthe last time you collaborated with someone becauseSoaring As an Eagle Over Life's Challengesyou both wanted to see God do something new in theother person's life?
The third principle learned from ants is that ofpreparedness. Ants prepare for their family andfor their future. Proverb 6:7-8 says that they do nothave commanders, overseers or rulers, yet they storeup provisions in the summer. Then the Bible asksbelievers what I believe to be a very embarrassing yetthought-provoking question in verse 9, "How long willyou lay there, you sluggard?" How prepared are youto meet the challenges that lie ahead? If you were tobecome disabled, how would you live out the rest ofyour life? Worst still, if the Lord were to call you hometoday, how would your family survive economically?How prepared are you to meet your Maker?
The final principle learned from ants is that ofperseverance. Ants are not quitters. Are you? Theypersevere through disturbances, danger and disaster.In other words, they are fighters who refuse to giveup in spite of the circumstances they find themselvesgoing through. Have you ever noticed a colony of antswashed away by a strong water hose? They regroupin a few minutes and refuse to be defeated. What aspirit of resilience and perseverance! Do you give in todespair and defeat easily after a few failures in life? Doyou allow the enemy to discourage you when thingsare not going the way you anticipated?
The point that I am trying to make is that thereare value principles we can learn from ants that couldchange our lives. It is for this reason, God says, "Goto the ants and let them teach you." In other words,examine the lives of ants; study their habits; analyzetheir weaknesses but also see how they make up fortheir weakness; evaluate their accomplishments inlight of yours and ask yourself, "Am I measuring up?"
Given that there are 1,250,000 identified speciesof animals on earth, it is a little surprising, don'tyou think, that God selects only a few for parablesof comparison. Whatever the reason, I am convincedthat those animals, to which we are compared in theBible, have a lot that we need to learn from and as aresult, we need to take the comparison seriously.
Besides the ants, the Bible compares us to eagles.In Isaiah 41:30, we read, "But they that wait upon theLord shall renew their strength; they shall mount upwith wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary;and they shall walk and not faint."
Eagles are large birds that belong to the group ofbirds called raptors. The word raptor has it origin inLatin, stemming from raptare, meaning to seize andcarry away. The Hebrew word for eagle is Nesher,which means, "to tear with the beak." Eagles areplunderers. They, like all raptors, are predatory birdswith strong, hooked bills and strong grasping feet.Eagles are some of the world's largest birds. They haveexcellent vision, light bodies, soaring wings and othercharacteristics that make them unique and peculiar.
An electronic word search of the Bible will quicklyreveal that the word 'eagle' is mentioned 32 times.Bible scholars believe that in God's arithmetic, thenumber 32 means covenant. If the two thoughts arecombined, we can logically deduce that God wants toreveal His covenant to us through the life of the eagle.God wants to use His creature, the eagle, to help usunderstand deep spiritual truth. The eagle thereforeis another example of how God uses parables,metaphors, analogies and similes in the Bible. InHis divine wisdom, God has chosen to help us seedeep spiritual things through the lens of His naturalcreatures. What a wise God! In Romans 1:20 we read:"Ever since the creation of the world His invisiblenature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has beenclearly perceived in the things that have been made.So they are without excuse." The fact of the matteris that it is easier to understand spiritual truths bystudying natural or earthly things. Similarly, we cangain knowledge about the 'overcoming' Christian lifeby looking at some of the characteristics of an eagle.
As much as I recognize that God could have chosenany bird or animal to use as a comparison, I wouldbe very uncomfortable if God used certain animals torefer to me. Therefore, I am glad that God, in Hisomniscience, chose to compare us to eagles and notto any of the other approximately 10,000 species ofbirds that soar through the sky every day. Of course,He could have likened us to any other animal sincewe display some of their characteristics as well.Nevertheless, thank God, He did not do it!
For example, let me mention one creature Godmight have chosen to compare to humans; one ofthose animals that I would have been uncomfortablewith God using. God could have compared us withchickens. After all, they are so common that thereare probably more chickens in the world thanthere are people. I grew up with them living inthe same house, competing for the same food(rice), tilling the same ground for survival, andrunning around playing in the same yard. Chickensare good animals and fun to have around. Theykeep the environment noisy and full of activity.The case could be made that the clucking chickensmake is actually their way of talking. They soundvarying alarm calls when threatened by differentpredators. Chickens warn one another of dangerlike the presence of a snake. A rooster will attackanything that he thinks will harm the hens. Theirspurs (located at the back of their leg) can cause avery painful puncture wound.
Additionally, chickens are easy to maintain and canbe profitable financially. Hens live five to seven years,but may live twenty years. Many hens produce eggstheir entire lives, with the number decreasing as theyage.
In Ancient Rome, chickens were held up as rolemodels of motherhood, hence the Roman compliment:"You were raised by a hen," meaning you were carefullyraised with good virtues and value system. Even in ourday, we may call someone a "Mother hen" implying thatthe chicken is a good mother. It may be in referenceto Matthew 23:37 where Jesus said, "Jerusalem,Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone thosesent to you, how often I have longed to gather yourchildren together, as a hen gathers her chicks underher wings, and you were not willing." Certainly thismetaphor speaks of the protective nature of a motherhen who reaches out to gather her chicks under herwings to shelter them and keep them safe when shebelieves that their lives are threatened. Chickens arevery sociable animals. They also fight to protect theirfamily and mourn when a loved one is lost.
As good and praiseworthy as some of thecharacteristics mentioned above are, there are othercharacteristics of chickens which make me thankfulthat God chose to compare humans with eaglesinstead of chickens.
First, chickens are not capable of sustained flight.The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteenseconds. Though chickens have large wings, theyhardly use them. When threatened by a predator,chickens attempt to use their wings, but due to lackof practice, find them to be weak and mostly useless.If they resort to running, chickens are capable oftraveling up to nine miles per hour by foot. Theirinability to fly makes them vulnerable to predators;hence they are an easy catch.
Some situations in life require us to walk, a fewrequire us to run but others require us to "fly." Walkingat times makes it easy for us to get caught. The sameis true for running. In fact, while running, there is agreater possibility of getting into serious trouble byrunning into obstacles, like a wall, or falling into a pit,especially when we are vigorously pursued. If we arenot careful, not only will our enemies catch us, wemight also sustain injuries as we try to run to safety.That is why we need to learn to "fly."
Have you noticed a plane on the runway? As it taxisbefore taking off, it is very vulnerable. Any little crackon the runway could cause tremendous damage tothe plane. Passengers are advised to remain seatedwith seatbelts fastened. However, when the plane hasreached a certain altitude away from relative harm,passengers are able to remove their seatbelts andenjoy the flight.
Imagine the days before planes were invented.Imagine the number of months it took a person totravel to Africa, Asia or Europe. Consider the challengesvoyagers faced with waves, seasickness, vicious seacreatures, malfunctioning equipment and hurricanes.Just pondering what travelers of old endured to covera 1,000-mile journey is scary. Today, we can simplycatch a jet and "fly."
Imagine if chickens could fly. Capturing themwould be difficult, requiring the use of moresophisticated methods of seizure. Unfortunately,this is not the case. When faced with viciouspredators or even their human master in order to bekilled and cooked, they simply surrender becausethey cannot fly. It is the same with many of us; wedo not know how to fly away from our threateningsituation. We do not know how to mount up withwings like an eagle and fly to the "Son." I hope thatby the time you finish reading this book, you wouldhave fully understood how to fly freely and neveract like a chicken that is incapable of sustainedflight.
Second, chickens can be hypnotized to believethey cannot leave a small space by merely holdingthe chicken and repeatedly drawing a circle in the dirtsurrounding the chicken. Surprisingly, the chicken willremain immobile for a long period after the circle hasbeen drawn around it, not realizing it is being fooled orhypnotized. Somehow, it does not have the ability torealize that it is being fooled or hypnotized. Whethertraced by a child or adult, it allows its movements tobe dictated by a simple circle.
