Life is like a pendulum that swings through the course of time. Balance is something that I notice every time I swing by it as I continue to learn. In this motif, I have come to realize that my finite human brain is so limited. My ability to perceive what is best for me is often clouded by my stubborn self will. My earnest desire to see what I want to see keeps me from seeing what I need to see. Several years ago I heard a speaker describe how monkey’s are hunted and caught. This particular method for hunting monkeys spoke volumes to me.
In this account, I was amazed by what I heard. I could identify with the monkey who is trapped because of his inability to see the big picture. A small-enclosed bamboo cage is constructed and a piece of fruit (bait) is placed in the middle of the bamboo cage. The construction of the cage allows the monkey to slide his hand into the cage to grasp the bait, but does not allow the monkey to get his hand out of the cage while grasping the fruit. As the monkey struggles to retrieve the fruit, he is unaware of his captors, who have since thrown a net over the cage and the monkey.
I can be like the monkey who struggles to get his way and in the process loses his freedom. When I find myself wanting what I want, when I want it, my eyesight becomes clouded. Consequently, I am unable to recognize what is best for me. Experience has taught me that by turning my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him, I am delivered from the hand of the trapper. Moreover, I am less likely to be lured to the trap called self will.
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