ELEPHANT BONDS
Have you ever felt trapped? Stuck in the mud? Walking in circles? Tied down? Lacking options? Feeling listless? Losing hope? You are not alone, my friend. So, let’s talk about elephants.
There is a classic story about elephants, but I totally don’t remember when and where I first heard or read it, and most certainly do not remember who shared it or wrote it. So, it’s a good thing this is not a research paper that requires footnotes and source verification. Are we good? Great. You are so gracious!
The story involves a passerby asking an elephant trainer about the elephants’ single ankle rope on a small stake in shallow ground that amazingly keeps them from running away. “Why don’t the elephants simply yank it out with their obviously superior strength and run away from the fairgrounds?”
The answer was that the same size rope and stake had been used on the elephants since they were much younger, smaller, and weaker. In those days, as much as they tried, the young elephants could not pull free. As time passed, they became conditioned to believe they would always be unsuccessful in any future attempts, even though at some point they had grown big enough and strong enough to do so. Kind of sad, but a great story, isn’t it?
Is that really true, you may ask? I wanted to know that as well. So, with a little digging, I discovered that while it is indeed true to some extent, there are some additional and equally insightful factors beyond the conditioned response.
One story cited accounts of elephants who broke the bond of the rope and stake when a fire broke out. Ah, a crisis spawns bold actions and helps them break free.
Another cited elephants who would break their normal bonds when they wanted to rush and meet another elephant that had been taken away and now returned. Okay, a little love also spawns bold actions and helps them break free. Way better than a crisis, right?
Still another rationale emerged that as long as the elephants were fed well, kept amused and never abused, there was no reason for the intelligent creatures to even try to break away. Thus, the mere hint of restraint was enough to keep them in place. Well, this can be good or bad. Gilded cages and silk ropes come to mind.
So, knowing that Jesus loved to use parables and metaphors to reveal things in our lives, I started asking: “Okay, Lord. What can I learn from the elephants?”
One takeaway that comes to mind is to regularly ask the Lord if any of the limitations or fears I feel today are rooted in my assumption that my limitations of youth are still at play in my life, even though I have outgrown them, but never realized it. Hmmm. What a subtle prison!
Another is to ask Him if I have a habit of waiting for a fire to erupt before I try to break out of an area of bondage. Hmmm. Maybe I should ask a few trusted friends or family if they see any ropes and stakes in my life before a fire breaks out.
Or, how about this? Have I settled for far less achievement and destiny because I let my past failures convince me that I should be content with lesser goals, since I would never be capable of those attempted dreams, though I’ve grown bigger, stronger, wiser, and more resilient? Hmmm. If I continue to see myself as weak and feeble, then I am in serious danger of getting stuck right there. Trapped again!
One last question to ask the Lord. Has the ease of my fairground life, regular feedings, amusements galore, and former successes kept me from experiencing the greater heights and freedoms He still has for me? Yikes! Another prison!
Hey, why don’t we access our growing strength in the Lord and break free of our little ropes and stakes, my friends? What do you say? After all, there is far more life in the Lord beyond the fairgrounds of this world!
Breaking free with you,
Pastor Mark
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