Trimming wings

Merry and Pippin spend their days in lazy self-indulgence. They eat when they want to eat. Their food and drink are served to them without any payment and they have no calendar to hold to. They sleep when they want to sleep, play when they want to play, and sing when the urge hits them.

Merry and Pippin are parakeets that enjoy the warm morning sun and the luxury of meals around the clock without punching a clock. Their owners like to take them out and let them grip a finger while exchanging cooing sounds. Merry and Pippin sometimes brighten their owners’ day by sitting on their shoulder or even perching on top their heads.

Their only problem comes when they get too independent.

You’d think that they would welcome the hand that feeds them but it isn’t unusual for them to get a little cocky. Somehow they think they deserve this pampered life and they won’t even interact with those who care for them.

When the day comes that they refuse to perch on an outstretched finger, their owners take them in hand and trim wings. Boy, you ought to hear the squawking! This trimming hurts as much as cutting your hair but brings on the complaints.

Once their wings are trimmed, Merry and Pippin quickly become much friendlier and fun to be around.

Have you tracked with me on this one? I could substitute my name for Merry and Pippin. I understand God as the one who cares for me and only asks for relationship from me. But I can get pretty blasé about all he does for me and I can get pretty independent. I can feel sorry for myself rather than recognizing my rich life. And I squawk when my wings are trimmed. But if that’s what it takes to bring me back to him, bring it on!

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

Psalms 8:3-4