"Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee." (Psalm 32:9).
Sometimes we would board a horse or two on the farm. Often, a horse can be broken and be very useful to man. Other times you would wonder if they had a lick of sense.
It seems one got loose one day and decided to run down the pasture and leap a bar-wired fence. It did not make it. Soon the poor horse was wrapped up in the wire. The more it would pull, the deeper the wire would tear into its legs.
My dad and others tried to rescue the horse and free it from this “trap” it had gotten itself into. Being frightened and not knowing my dad was trying to help, it resisted Dad’s efforts, and tried to get loose from not only the wire, but also my dad. The horse was finally rescued but was horribly scarred for life.
It i’s sad when people who are hurting themselves do not recognize the ones who are trying to help them. Often this is the plight of the preacher. Some people are hurting themselves, and as the preacher draws near to help, they pull away and go deeper into what is hurting them. Elders, teachers, and parents have witnessed this, too.
Many animals on a farm, when trapped, will attack the person trying to set them free. They lack understanding. Do not be like them. Let others help you out of your situation by their advice and counsel.
"Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." (Proverbs 9:8-9).
