Last month we received a new addition to our stable. Her name is Katy. She is a splendid Morgan horse with wide brown eyes and a shiny bay coat. We were anxious to get her to our farm. Our Arab mare, Becky, had spent nearly three years alone in the pasture.
Horses are gregarious creatures and form loving bonds with one another. Involved in the bonding process, however, is a period of sparring which determines the hierarchy.
When deciding if a horse is a good candidate for one’s stable, there are obvious points to be considered. Does this horse bite or kick? What flaws does she have, etc? Katy had been a perfect lady in her last two homes. She was the low horse on the totem pole. Since Becky was also this kind of mare, we thought there might not be any problems. Wrong!
Katy immediately took the upper hand. While we watched in horror, she bullied our gentle gray Arab into frustration. We’ve managed to work things out, but Katy will always reign as queen of this barnyard.
Katy only bosses Becky because it makes her feel good. When a horse feels good, it can’t seem to stop even when what it’s doing can hurt itself. If a horse gets into grain, for example, they can eat themselves into sickness or even death. If they learn to bite and then suck the wood on their stall (termed cribbing), they can develop colic which can be fatal. If they learn to be in the lead, they are always anxious to be there.
With appropriate human intervention the horse can live a longer, better life in spite of its natural inclinations. They can be taught to be patient, for example, and can be kept from too much grain or prevented from cribbing. “We put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body” (James 3:3).
Our Heavenly Father can provide a similar benefit to help us overcome our faults. “For in many things we all offend. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body” (v. 2). We should be bridled as the horse, being instructed and under control lest we hurt ourselves or others around us.
Envy and strife in our lives is not a far cry from the horse who wants the hay all to himself. We separate horses to stop them from starving or overeating. In like manner, we should separate ourselves from envy and strife for “this wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:15). “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (v.17).
With God’s help, we can lead healthier lives now which may lead to life without end through His mercy.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One