By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross
When it comes to God, many cowboys have an authority problem and it can be one of the biggest reasons a man holds back from giving in to a saving faith in Jesus.
Whether on the ranch or rodeo side of our cowboy cultures, there is a lot of reasons a cowboy needs or develops a sense of independence. It can be a ranch hand sent out to check and mend fences after a storm or a bronc rider depending on his own strength to make that eight second ride.
Physical strength and hard work generate rewards from a herd getting to market to a bulldogger making the pay window. We’re proud of our accomplishments and our independence, but when pride keeps us from recognizing it’s God who even allowed it in the first place, it becomes a sin.
Proverbs 21:4 A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin.
Cowboys honor strength and independence and the idea of submitting to a higher authority can be tough, yet we’re told every person will submit, one way or another.
Philippians 2: 9-11 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Paul is explaining in this letter that everyone will come to a realization that Jesus is Lord, meaning we submit to and follow him now through a saving faith in Jesus or we realize later, when it’s too late, how real God’s authority was through Jesus. We realize this as we see the truth of Heaven and Hell and face God’s judgment.
But God wants us all to be with Him and through a saving Jesus, we all can have an eternity in Heaven. James uses strong language as he urges us to submit to God.
James 4:7-10 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James is telling us we need to resist sin and temptations that keep us from a saving faith. But that takes recognizing our pride is a sin we have to resist in order to recognize Jesus is Lord of our lives. Being humble can be hard but it’s necessary to recognize God’s authority.
When we can do this, you don’t lose the feeling of independence out there fixing fence with just you and your horse. You don’t lose the sense of success when you make your first eight second ride. You gain an understanding that it was through God’s will and authority that you are where you are and we begin to seek ways to honor and glorify Him in all we do.
Recent Comments