DailySusan Humor Blog

THE SNARE OF THE FOWLER

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler. . . .
-- Psalm 91:3a

Our friend Bob has an unusual hobby: he’s a falconer. He knows how to go out and trap a prairie falcon, and then practically shack up with it for a few months to get it to trust him so that it’ll fly for him.

It’s a timeless, fascinating skill. He uses a jess (leg strap), gloves, hoods and leather pouch lures with meat inside. He gives the bird lots of attention, grooming and of course, great food.

He has built a cage that’s more of a luxury habitat. And yes, after the training and togetherness and fulfillment and fun, he eventually retrains the bird NOT to trust him so much, and releases it back to the wild.

It never ceases to amaze me, though, how a bird of prey can get tricked into falling for his initial trap. I mean, aren’t they supposed to have eyesight that’s lots better than ours? Don’t they see what they’re getting in to? Aren’t they smarter than that?

But then, look at our own lives. Don’t we fall for traps ourselves, all the time?

I think it’s because there’s a Fowler – the Enemy of our souls – who likes to “fowl” things up for us and keep us from God’s best.

He knows us very well. He knows our weaknesses and what’ll grab us. He’s got his obvious traps, of alcoholism and drug addiction, murder and sexual immorality.

But for those of us who can resist the National Enquirer type sins, he’s got more subtle kinds of traps. Not as flashy, but they get us into bondage nonetheless.

For me, the temptation has always been to take on too much. I would get exhausted and cranky, and my family would go without sweetness and light. What kind of a Christian example is that?

Turns out a friend of mine battles workaholism, too. Last weekend, she spilled her guts about it. She works full-time, has a husband and two kids, keeps a spotless house, is good about visiting her older relatives, and does all kinds of volunteer work besides.

Her weekends have gradually gotten completely eaten up by obligations. She shared that she was about to go “TILT!”

So I was glad to be able to tell her this story:

Years ago, a wise friend suggested that I make a list of all the things that were stressing me, and get rid of the things that weren’t absolute “musts.” It came to almost 90 items. I pared it down to 30. I made call after call to cancel various promises and projects, and not a single person squawked. They all understood. It happens. I resolved to never let myself get so tied down again.

Years later, someone I hadn’t heard from in years called to ask me to ghost-write a book for a corporate leader. The project would be time-consuming, but it would pay off very well.

The only problem was, the subject was not all that interesting to me. OK, it was a SNORE! And I had committed myself to writing only to glorify Jesus and His principles. This would be a puff piece. It would divert me from my main Christian calling.

But the guy who asked me was sooooo persuasive and made it sound sooooo enticing, flattering me that it would get reviewed in the Wall Street Journal and stuff. Whoa!

I told him I’d have to think about it.

You knew this was coming: I picked up my Bible that night. It flipped open to Psalm 91:3, which I didn’t remember reading before.

A slow smile spread across my face. The name of the guy who had asked me to do the book? Fowler.

Next morning, I called him: thanks, but no thanks.

I escaped the trap of busy work! I was free to write what I wanted! I felt so light, I could fly.

Yeah, well, until the next trap is laid for me. You know, Satan is an odd bird, strangely persistent. You’ve got to watch him like a hawk. †