Picture from https://thefarmingfoodie.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-raising-baby-chicks/
There is a hen in the community who has taken a liking to my backyard. She will lay her eggs secretly, and suddenly one morning I’ll see six our eight chicks following her around.
Now I love all animals….
but those chicks have to die!
The reason why is their mother ravages the backyard finding food for them
- Ripping up tomato plants
- Destroying flowers
- Digging massive holes in the yard
- And biting into the mangoes that fall from my tree, and are given to people in the community
That last part for me is the most frustrating because there are people who don’t have much food, and really enjoy the mangoes I give to them. But the mother hen would destroy every one the moment it hit the ground!
So last week I finally decided to do something about the chicks. After putting a leash on my trusty guard dog Vincy I let him loose in the backyard for some “chick hunting.” There is actually one chick left, but I’m pretty sure mama has left him, so he gets a reprieve for now.
I realize letting my dog kill those baby chicks may seem barbaric….but the damage they were doing to my property made it necessary.
There is a good correlation between those chicks and my sin-nature.
Often a sin may seem “small and unimportant.” It may even seem cute! But that small sin will do incredible amounts of damage to my Christian life and testimony. Over time it will grow bigger and multiply itself. Soon the whole backyard will be filled with destructive chickens!
It is far better to do the hard work of putting that sin to death as Romans 6 tells us through the power of the Spirit.
I am grateful for this visual reminder that sometimes the most gracious thing I can do for my sin is kill it
Johnhwilburn.org 