The Bible On Trial

"Eye On the Prize"~

There is a universal motivating factor that keeps a person moving toward any goal.

The story of the donkey, carrot and stick is a perfect metaphor for this factor.  In order to overcome the stubbornness of his donkey to pull hus cart the driver would tie a string around a carrot, attach it to a stick, and suspend it just in front of the donkey, such that the donkey would see and smell the carrot, move toward it, but never reach it until the cart driver got to his destination/goal. In this story the donkey did not choose the goal, the driver did. This was a long term goal for the driver, whereby he used a short term goal for the donkey to achieve it. The donkey also had a goal, that was to eat the carrot, and stayed focused on that goal to the exclusion of all else, until he got to the destination chosen by the driver.

Now without exception humans are not donkeys, although humans may seem to behave like it at times, in that we can be as willful and stubborn as those braying animals. We humans have a tendency to choose to live our lives based upon short term goals that provide close to instant gratification. We do this because unlike the donkey in the story, we get to choose the driver/driving force in our lives, and that force more often than not does not take a long view; either in planning for retirement, saving money for a vacation, or any number of things that require long term planning and execution. We often settle for a narrow view of life centered around the important but mundane things such as going to work, feeding our children, watching a favorite TV show, or even going to church.

If our driver is Jesus, we must learn to look see our ultimate destination as does He/Them; eternal life for those He loves. This is why we must STUDY and KNOW the Truth.