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The Lion in the Cage



As a kid I was always fascinated by lions. I remember watching nature shows on an old, grainy colored TV set, and even with the less than perfect picture, I was still mesmerized by the piercing stare of those magnificent beasts. Even through the television I could see, and almost feel, the ferocity and passion radiating from their eyes. I loved reading and watching anything and everything I could on these creatures.

Years after my infatuation with lions began; I finally got a chance to see a lion in person while visiting a zoo on vacation. Although it was still amazing to see a huge male lion up close and not through a fuzzy screen (sorry kids, no HD televisions back then), the experience was diminished as I looked into his eyes. The fire, the passion … it was gone! In its place was a haunting emptiness, deadness in his stare. “So, that’s what happens when you put a lion in a cage,” I thought.
For years, I assumed the cage is what caused the fire inside that lion to die out but now I don’t think that’s entirely correct. Sure, it’s part of it, you have the king of jungle … er, savannah, a beast accustomed to roaming his kingdom unfettered, now confined to a slab of concrete. Only in the last few years have I come to realize there’s something more that’s missing from the lion’s life, something more than freedom.

Every day, attendants from the zoo bring that lion slabs of meat. He can eat in perfect peace and comfort, not even having to get up from his bed. Convenient, right? But it’s also disastrous. Here is a 500lb killing machine constructed of muscle and teeth and claws, born and bred to dare and hunt, eating out of a tin bowl. Everything his Creator designed him to do is no longer necessary. Yes, he has lost his freedom, but even more destructive, he has lost his purpose. He no longer needs to risk comfort and safety to hunt and sustain his life, and furthermore, fight to defend and protect the lives of his pride.

Sadly, I see this in humans all too often as well - someone who has chosen comfort over purpose, convenience over passions. Sometimes it’s an individual who has always chosen the “path of least resistance” but I also see it in men and women who have dared greatly to make a difference – people who have risked and sacrificed to accomplish amazing things in their lives and to make the world a better place for those they love. But somewhere along the line, they have plucked the alluring fruit of complacency and a life of ease. Once tasted, I see very few people who can put the fruit back and go out and hunt again.

So what can you do? Challenge yourself, do those things that stretch you and even scare you. I believe we are all born with gifts, gifts the world needs and longs for, but it’s up to us to deliver those gifts. And those gifts cannot and will not be mastered and delivered without risk and pain. Just remember, if you’ve found yourself stuck in a cage, you have an advantage the lion doesn’t. You still have the keys. Go hunt!

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