Lion Tamers

1 Peter 5:8  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

There was once a master lion tamer in a famous circus who was a couple of years from retirement. So the circus management and the master lion tamer decided to start training his successor as it would take a lot of hard work and focus for the young tamer to be able to control the lion. From hundreds of candidates, a young student was chosen and the training began. 

As the first lesson, the master explained to the student that most courageous lion tamers use only two tools to control the fierce beasts prowling around the cage. A whip and a chair. The young student looked surprised at his mentor. The mentor noticed the surprised look of his young apprentice and asked him “Which of the two is the most valuable to the tamer?”The student answered, “Surely the whip.” To which, he master replied, “No. The most important tool is the chair, and more specifically, the four legs of the stool!”

The student just stood there baffled. “A chair,” said the student “that’s odd! But why a chair? And why the four legs?” The master lion tamer replied “A lion can easily overpower, maul and kill a person. However, it’s only easy for the lion to do so if it can focus on a singular object or one person. The lion tamer uses the stool as a method of distraction. The lion, when faced with the legs of the stool, tries to focus on all four at once. Confused, and unable to focus, it stands there, frozen!  The lion tamer remains relatively safe behind the stool.”

Christians are lion tamers. The devil prowls around us snarling and roaring, baring teeth in a show of force that is supposed to scare us. But just like the lion tamer, we are not without weapons. A circus lion tamer uses a whip and a chair, Christians use the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

If we are aware that Satan is out there doing his best to confuse us, scare us, and make us feel all alone, he can destroy us. However, once we are alert and are able to use God’s tools, we defeat Satan easily.

Keep an eye out for the lion, and always be prepared to remind him who is boss!

Today’s Readings: Isaiah 46-49; 1 Peter 5

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