"Runaway"

I’ve always heard of runaways,

That people say they’ve had,

About ridin’ some old counterfeit,

That scared ‘em really bad.

Some pony took away the bit,

And chargy plumb ran off,

And maybe at the very end,

Pitched ‘em far aloft.

Some cowboys love this kind of thing,

‘Specially if the horse is green,

Some will welcome one to pitch,

Their ridin’ skill’s so keen.

But me, I guess I’ve got too old,

To appreciate such stuff,

I like ‘em broke and gentle,

‘Cause that old ground is tough.

I also like a light mouth horse,

You use your legs to turn,

Neck rein him right around,

Though I have much to learn.

I want to build the trust you see,

So what I want will match,

The thing he ends up doing,

And that spirit he will catch.

The  bond is pretty awesome,

The work, it sure gets done,

When both the horse and rider,

Are workin’ cows as one.

And when the day is over,

The only runaway,

Is when the fear is conquered,

And trust will win the day.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18, NAS)

You can make a horse do what you want out of fear by punishing him when he does the wrong thing. I’ve seen a lot of people do it that way. The better way, it seems to me, is build trust and let the horse know he doesn’t have to fear. It doesn’t mean you’re never firm, but there is a big difference in firmly reinforcing the good and discouraging the bad versus training by intimidation. God trains us by casting out our fear and helping us learn that we can trust Him to lead us into productivity and peace.

Lord, help us to trust You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.-