Lions and your Community

Have you ever seen a national geographic or animal planet special on lions? Somewhere I once heard that lions sleep away the majority of their day.  That sort of fact makes me wonder how they can be name the king of the jungle. It may have something to do with what I’ve seen on National Geographic. I have watch as a lion, now in hunting mode, waits in the grass, watching.  They are skilled hunters.  They sneak!  They wait! They watch! They are present even when the prey does not ever know.

When the moment is “right”, the lion runs after the herd.  Still he does not just run in and nab anything.  The lion is a wise hunter.  He chases the herd for a short time, creating a stampede.  Even still, the lion waits.  He watches!

What is he waiting for?  What is looking for?

He’s looking for the weakest one.  As the herd runs, the lion waits for the weak one that cannot keep up with the rest. He looks for the one unaware of the impending danger.  He wants and watches for the one unable to keep up with the protection of the herd, of the group, the pack.

Once the one begins to trail behind the rest, unaware of the impending danger, the lion pounces, attacks, and devours in a matter of seconds.  The actual attack is short and quick.  The prowl is the real wisdom of the entire thing, because while the lion prowls, the prey is too comfortable and unaware; it is unprotected by its own apathy and naivety.

The lion may appear lazy and a non-threat, but it is that sort of assumptive naivety that the king of the jungle preys upon.

1 Peter 5:8-9 reads, “Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

We have a very present enemy who longs to keep individuals away from the heart of God.  If we really care about those in our community we will realize a couple things.

1. We cannot isolate ourselves from the community or the group. 2. We cannot allow other people to isolate from the group.

We have an enemy who prowls like a lion waiting for the one that isolates themselves from the group, the one who is unaware of the danger and he attacks that one person.