The Need to Heed

 Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father,

And give attention that you may gain understanding,

For I give you sound teaching;

Do not abandon my instruction. -Proverbs 4:1-2

 The above passage always reminds me of an incident that happened in my youth.  I was in the seventh or eighth grade and my first ewe had just given birth to a lamb.  I can remember the excitement of having a new lamb and thinking about my slow but growing flock.  I eagerly cleaned out the pen and put a fresh layer of sawdust down for the ewe and the lamb.  Since we were still having cold nights, I placed a heat lamp over the pen to keep the lamb warm.  At this point my Dad came by the pen joining in my excitement, and then instructed me to place the heat lamp on the top rail of the fence for safety reasons.  He then continued out into the field.  As I was finishing up feeding my other animals (two pigs for a 4-H project) and completing my chores for the night, I stopped by to check on my ewe and lamb one more time before turning in for the night.  The sun had set and the temperature was dropping making it rather chilly.  I thought my lamb would need some more warmth. I reasoned to myself that my Dad was being overly cautious and I knew what was best for the situation – I mean really!  My Dad raised pigs; I was the sheepherder!  So, neglecting my father’s clear instruction, I decided to place the heat lamp one railing down in order to provide more heat for the lamb, and then went in to get ready for bed.

 Our entire household was abruptly awakened at 5am the next morning to someone pounding on our front door yelling, “Your barn is on fire!”  I knew immediately what had happened and quickly ran out to the barn expecting the worse.  It was quite foggy that morning so the visibility was low, and upon approaching the barn, I saw the corner where all my animals were kept was the part that was on fire.  I was filled with fear.  I quickly ran to the lambs’ pen while others got hoses and water to start putting out the fire.  When I got to the pen I could see that my ewe was not in it, but I couldn’t tell if the lamb was or not, and the heat from the flames was too great to get close enough to see for sure.  My Dad told me to get water and help put out the fire, which I quickly did (I knew I was in big trouble).  While helping to put out the fire I kept thinking about my new lamb; where was he, had he gotten burned?  And my ewe was nowhere to be found.  Then I realized that my two pigs were in that same area.  O why, O why, O why hadn’t I listened to my Dad?

 We finally got the fire out and moved in to assess the mess.  The southeast corner of the barn was burned out.  It was obvious that the heat lamp had caused the fire.  My ewe had knocked it down because it was placed to low – my Dad just looked at me without saying a word.  None of my animals were in the pens and I began searching around the fields and other farm buildings, not knowing what I would find.  An hour passed by and still I hadn’t found any of the animals.  My brother finally found my two pigs; they were hiding under a ripped out lean-to and were so severely burned that we had to put them down. Just then, our neighbor across the road yelled out that he had found my ewe and lamb in his barn. I was now dreading the fate of my sheep due to my pride and stupidity.  My ewe was burned on her back but the lamb was not even touched!  The ewe had broken through the two-by-six pen boards and ushered her lamb out of the pen and into safety.  To say the least I was ecstatic, but at the same time, I knew I was to blame for the entire mess.

 Over the years I have had much opportunity to look back on that incident and reflect upon what happened.  The above Scripture always reminds me of that time and instructs me of my continual need to hear – to really take to heart and heed – my Father’s instruction.  It is so easy to think that I know what is best and go my own way, but this only proves that I lack understanding.  Just as it benefits us to listen to our earthy father’s instructions, it is all the more crucial that we hear, give attention to (obey), and keep our heavenly Father’s instruction.  Let us never come to a point in our lives that we think we know it all, that we think we’ve heard it all, that we think we can do it all on our own.  No matter how young or how old we are, we still need to heed instruction – the sound teaching that our Father gives us so that we can live lives for His glory.  May we be a people that have hearing ears, teachable hearts, and a readiness to obey God’s Word.

By God's Grace ~ Through God's Word ~ For God's Glory!

Chuck Long

©God’sGWG
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