The Right Connection
Author:
July 23, 2019
"Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together"
Deuteronomy 22:10 KJV -The Right Connection
I've preached the text three times in my lifetime, and I've come to
discover that many people in the body of Christ have very poor and even pitiful
connections in regards to relationships. Those relationships are not merely
marital alone, but friendships, partnerships, and even memberships, including
the church. This verse highlights at least 3 major reasons why Moses gave a law
to not partner an ox with an ass (donkey, jackass) and its implications are
still relevant today. Here are some notes from my sermon that may possibly help
many of you in your personal relationships going forward.
1. The Right Connection
Prevents Hardheadedness - Oxen are built for hard labor and are considered a
legitimate working beast while donkeys are the opposite. When it's time to
grind out real work, oxen will get the job done while donkeys will be
completely stubborn and hardheaded as it relates to completing the tasks at
hand. Hence the reason when people show their stubborn side, we call them the
expletive term - "ass". This is a biblical statement implicating that
hardworking, determined people should not connect or partner with lazy,
distracted people because it prevents the hard worker from morphing into
something that its not, a donkey! So many people have transformed from the
sweetest of persons to the most bitter person because they didn't control the
access and activities of donkeys in their lives. Simply listening to them and
entertaining their waste-dumping turns your mind into a mental trash can with
no filtration system. Eventually, that garbage gets into your heart and spirit,
weakens your sight, plagues your thoughts, lessens your patience, and
demotivates your determination. Don't allow the donkeys in your life to yoke
with you, whether that's personal or professional, friendships, partnerships or
even church memberships, because it will cause you to become a stubborn,
hardheaded person.
2. The Right Connection
Prevents Heaviness - While oxen are trained to work hard and eat little while
working, the donkey eats much before working and becomes too heavy itself to
carry or pull any load or significant weight. You should desire to be the
person who can handle some things, and our struggle and downfall shouldn't be
determined by the heaviness of the person you're yoked together with.
Partnerships and relationships should be a mutual effort of carrying the load
together in unity. Oxen are built for this, but donkeys bring heaviness into
the situation. It's difficult enough to pull the weight of the load, and its
altogether more difficult when you have to drag someone along with you because
they're too heavy to carry themselves. They are heavy because they have filled
their bellies with a substance that doesn't create positive energy. We all know
persons whose spirit is always heavy, something is always wrong, feel as if
someone is always bothering them, or just simply distressed, perplexed and
ready to give up on life. This heaviness of heart, mind and spirit is often
self-induced, but when explained by the heavy individual, they're often the
victim. These are all symptoms of heaviness. Furthermore. many relationships
and partnerships are burdened because one person, generally the ox, is bearing
the weight of two people plus the work at hand. This effort creates undue
stress for the ox, and wasted energy exerted towards reaching the simple goals
in life. Don't allow donkeys to bring unnecessary heaviness in your life.
3. The
Right Connection Prevents Halitosis - Donkeys eat while they travel, work and
play, and unfortunately will eat anything in front of them, even if it's
detrimental to their own livelihood. As a result of their poor chose of diet,
they quickly develop a disease in their mouth called halitosis. It's a very
foul, fetid, unpleasant odor, and when coupled with the extreme breathing from
their heaviness, the smell irritates the nostrils of the oxen. The ox will
quickly and abruptly attempt to detach itself from the yoke of the donkey
because it can no longer tolerate the foul breath of the donkey. Again, the
foul odor is a result of the donkey eating everything in front of it. There are
people that will eat everything in front of them, and that's not referring to
food alone; but gossip, rumors, lies, hearsay, she-said, he-said, they-said,
and the list goes on. As a consequence, many relationships and partnerships
dissolve because someone in the relationship has halitosis, constantly speaking
negativity, rumors, and gossip into the atmosphere. Oxen are focused on the
work at hand while donkeys are only distracting the real workers with their
foul breath. And, sometimes those with halitosis don't even realize just how
foul their breath really is and how offensive it is to others around them. And
unfortunately, there is no tic-tac, peppermint or breathe strip that can
eradicate this disease. Be cautious of connecting and partnering with donkeys
of which most of what they have to say is irritating your spiritual, mental,
social and psychological nostrils.
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