Out Our Way: A cow is still a cow - Psalm 14

Out our way, one soon learns all cows are not alike. Oh, I don’t just mean that in the sense that there are different breeds, but in the sense some are dominant leaders while others are docile followers. But just because a cow is a leader doesn’t mean she knows where she is going. For although one cow may be deemed superior by the rest of the herd, a cow is still just a cow. That is why Big Mike sent Charlie and me to guide the herd to new pastures when the old one was grazed over.  

We did indeed find some cows who led the rest of the herd, but we also found in many cases, those lead cows were leading in the wrong direction. Remember, progress is not just about moving — but about moving in the right direction! Granted we have some who, like the guy who headed East from St.Louis on his way to LA. He didn’t get where he was going, but bragged about what excellent time he made. Even so, he still didn’t get to LA. 

It may be helpful to remind ourselves what the two words we translate into English “sin”  and “repentance” mean. In the original Greek and Hebrew of the Scriptures, the word “sin” means basically “To be going the wrong way or to miss the target.” The word “repentance” means “to change direction or to correct your aim.” To say I am a sinner is to say I am flawed. To say I must repent is to say I need to correct that flaw. When the Apostle Paul wrote “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). He was simply saying we are all flawed and need God to get us back on track. How can the blind lead the blind? (Luke 6:39). Trying to do it without God always ends in disaster.

Now, while various cows rose in status in the herd and many others followed them, these leaders were still just cows. And while various human leaders rise up and call others to follow, they are still just humans. They, too, are blind and flawed despite their popularity, status and power.

However, many of these blind guides hope to hide that fact. Like the pigs in George Orwell’s prophetic book of the ’30s, “Animal Farm,” the pigs taught the other animals that “All animals are equal,” but soon demonstrated what they later admitted was their real agenda: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” As has always been the case when God is rejected, the “power of the people” soon becomes the “power of the elite.” 

Recall the French Revolution, the rise of secularist and atheist movements in Russia and Germany leading to both the National Socialist Democratic Party and the Union of Soviet Socialist Party. Amongst the first targets was always the believers. Recall that Christians as well as Jews and many others died in Nazi Concentration camps, as did many believers sent to Soviet gulags under Stalin. 

The idea that we are all in the same boat — all equally flawed and need God is something all faiths teach and something all dictators and secularist movements seek to deny. As Orwell prophesied, the new gospel of secular movement eventually exposes the hidden belief that while preaching “all animals are equal” to fool the gullible, they really believe and eventually demonstrate “but some animals are more equal than others.” 

The Psalmist declares, “The fool says in his heart there is no God. They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” (i.e. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”)

The lead cows up on the Tiger Ridge may have thought they were superior to the rest of the herd, and many of the cattle believed them; but in the end a cow is still a cow. The modern atheist/secularist may believe she or he is superior to the rest of humanity, but in the end a human being is still a human being. When Paul says “All have sinned and fallen short,” he means all of us, including himself. That is why he called on the faithful to follow Christ rather than him or any other fallen human being.   

I have no doubt the lead cows up on the Tiger Ridge thought they knew best, but no matter how powerful or popular, a cow is still a cow. Big Mike didn’t trust any lead cow to be more than a cow and so sent Charlie and me to guide them. A sinner is still a sinner no matter how faithful and righteous she or he tries to be. That is why God sent us Christ to lead us Home. It is up to us to decide whom we will follow.

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Brother John 

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write “Out Our Way.”