Chances are pretty good that most of you who read this post won’t know much about horses. That’s good, because I don’t either. However, there are a couple of things I do know. They are powerful, fast, strong and easily spooked. They have been extremely useful throughout history because of their speed and strength, but they also have a downside. Sometimes they get afraid of something – who knows what – and they have been known to go into what we might call a fit of rage.

If you’ve ever ridden a horse, you know just how intimidating they can be. Even when they are fully under control, it can be hard to get up the courage to ride one. But, if you have ridden one, especially if you’ve ever ridden one up a hill you can feel just how strong this creature is. So, when this powerful creature gets spooked and throws a fit with its body, I don’t want to be the one riding.

One year at the Jackson City Apple Festival parade the Budweiser Clydesdale horses came through the parade. I was sitting on the curb of the street as they came by. These horses were so big they actually shook the ground beneath me when they walked by. It would have been life-threatening if they had been spooked while I was sitting there.

But, they were wearing blinders on their faces. So, all the things that could scare them were blocked by the blinders. All the distractions, all the flashes of the camera, the shining from the Mylar balloons, kids waving and hundreds of other possibilities aren’t in the line of sight for these horses. So, they march down the street, doing exactly what they’ve been trained to do.

Proverbs 4:20-27

My child, pay attention to my words;
listen attentively to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight,
guard them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and healing to one’s entire body.
Guard your heart with all vigilance,
for from it are the sources of life.
Remove perverse speech from your mouth;
keep devious talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look directly in front of you
and let your gaze look straight before you.
Make the path for your feet level,
so that all your ways may be established.
Do not turn to the right or to the left;
turn yourself away from evil.

This is what wisdom is like for us. It is like putting blinders on our face so we don’t get distracted by the wrong things and can focus on the right things. We won’t be tempted to turn to the right or the left, we will walk on the path that has been set before us.

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