"Westerns"

 I’m not going to be a critic,

Of every cowboy show I see,

Some are quite authentic,

Others not so much to me.

But the westerns of my childhood,

Were not period correct,

With what they wore and rode on,

Just what they had, I ‘spect.

But I didn’t think about it,

I just liked to see ‘em ride,

And if the good guys won the day,

I was satisfied.

Through the years I’ve had my favorites,

Guess as fans we always do,

Lonesome Dove and Comes a Horseman,

Josey Wales, to name a few.

There was All the Pretty Horses,

And Last Cowboy, Monte Walsh,

Good Old Boys and Open Range,

And Broken Trail, not false.

There’s old ones like Nevada Smith,

And How the West was Won,

The Searchers and The Cowboys,

The men of horse and gun.

I enjoyed Appaloosa,

And Tombstone was a pleasure,

I liked True Grit, both versions,

Unforgiven without measure.

Jeremiah Johnson,

And Legends of the Fall,

That old Hi-Lo Country,

Doubt I can name ‘em all.

Butch Cassidy and Sundance,

Shane and Rio Bravo,

I even liked The Homesman,

Eight Seconds, Silverado.

I remember seven gunmen,

They called that group Magnificent,

The Wild Bunch and Long Riders,

Hang ‘Em High, The Revenant.

Shadow Riders, and The Sacketts,

And Dances with Wolves, too,

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly,

They all knew what to do.

You say you don’t like Yellowstone,

And that’s okay with me,

It’s not my favorite, either,

Though I liked 1883.

But here’s what I am saying,

And seems to me is true,

It’s mostly entertainment,

Not what most cowboys do.

I take it for its value,

‘Cause I just like to see,

A cowboy ridin’ horseback,

It still looks fine to me.

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall…” (1 Corinthians 10:12, NLT)

Sometimes I am amazed by the need Christians feel to judge everything and everybody. For example, there is a lot of ongoing controversy among Christians about speaking up and calling out what we believe is evil. This especially goes for entertainment and the media. It’s not just western shows, it’s everything. But, truth is, we don’t win by cursing the darkness. Instead, we are more effective when we show and share God’s light in a positive, loving way. You may disagree, and I understand if you do, but all of us should think and pray about how we handle such things. When Paul warned the Corinthian church to be careful when they thought they were standing strong, they needed to hear it. Sometimes when we think we are right about something we can become self-righteous and therefore vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. Pick your battles. Discern what matters. And be careful lest you fall.

Lord, give us Your discernment, especially when we think we are standing strong, in Jesus’ name.

Photo by Steve Wrubel, stevewrubel.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Steve, and God bless you.