Life is Like a Rodeo

” Bull riding is one of those sports that got started by ‘watch this, hold my beer!’ “

It is said that rodeo is the most dangerous sport out there, and for those who actually compete, I would say they’d agree with that statement. Rodeo has a wide range of events and all contain their own element of danger. Some injuries occur to the rider or the animal and all range in a variety of risk.  We get on the back of a horse because as children our parents or friends at one point told us, it’s worth it. You’ll have so much fun. You might have thought, what if I fall off, or get stepped on. What if I get hurt? But that tiny voice in your head is drown out when another says “it’s worth the risk”.  

I was at the Meeker Summer Rodeo Series last Thursday and as I sat and watched the bronc riding portion of the night, I couldn’t help but think about this blog and what I had just learned. If you have read one of my blogs before, you know I love word pictures. Things in everyday life that somehow speak to us on a whole different level at times. They teach us about who God is and who we are. As I continued to watch, I immediately took my cell phone out, and in my notes section, just began to jot stuff down so I wouldn’t forget. Oddly enough, the day after I wrote all this down, I became even more challenged with the concept throughout the week as if I needed to put into practice what I was learning rather than just telling others about it. Anyways.

If you have been to a rodeo, you’ll notice there are a lot of people around to help each other out. You got the guys that run the chutes, open the gates, and help situate the rider. You have your bull fighters and your pickup men, all of which are important and key roles to play to make the night run smoothly and safely. My mind started racing when I had first noticed when one rider fell off the bronc, the announcer called out ” watch out! watch your back.” and five guys turned their head and ran straight for the fence just as the horse came running through. Had they not moved right when they did, someone could have been trampled. The thing that got me was, the men on the ground were paying attention. They were helping the rider get up off the ground, they were veering out of the way of the pick up men all the while, they didn’t see the bronc coming through at that exact moment. They had each other’s backs and the announcer had higher ground. He had a vision of all the different working parts and not just the one thing in the moment. I thought, isn’t that what God does.? He has higher vision and can see the way things are about to play out, so He sends us a warning. He says hey I know you’re in ministry and I know you’re working hard, but lookout. You’re getting caught up in the moment and not focusing on me.  It’s funny because I have been in a place of ministry for so long, as I take a step back for a bit of a break I realize how easy it is to get caught up in doing good things for the Lord and to spread the Gospel, but I get so wrapped up in it, I forget to continually grow in my relationship with Him. I am not saying that if you’re tired or whatever to stop doing ministry and to just pour into yourself, but I am saying, sometimes God has to warn us and redirect our focus a bit in order that we don’t go so far that we forget Him completely. But this isn’t what I came here to say. So let’s get back to it. 

Rodeo. Ah yes, the sport literally made up of blood, sweat, and tears. There are many sermons cowboy churches teach and relating life to rodeo, and to led God take the reins and things like that. If life gets hard, trust God and continue riding through the storm, but  I heard a song the other day on the radio, and it related him to selling himself to the devil.. ie rodeo. He talked about how he took the devil by his bit and rode him like hell. While it is the “in” thing to be a cowboy and love your family, country, and God, I can’t help but notice another trend where cowboys think they are their own kings and they are strong and tough and can do anything in their own power. So, while most revelations about God relating to horses and rodeo are about “getting back on the horse”. I’d like to approach this from a different view. I started this blog off with the dangers of rodeo, and how when asked, it is relatively easy to decide that riding is worth the risk. Here is the honest to God truth, riding horses can be addicting. You ask them rodeo cowboys why they do what they do, there’s sometimes not an answer you can come up with. Why do they pay so much money into an extremely dangerous sport only to not be guaranteed to win that money back? Because the rush of wind in your hair and adrenaline in your veins is a feeling that becomes more and more addicting. But here’s the thing. Addiction, is not a good thing.

I sat at the rodeo Thursday night, and another cowboy fell off the bronc. While he was still on the ground scrambling to get up, the horse reared back up again and almost fell on Him and I thought. That horse is a lot like sin. It shakes us and rattles us and does everything to try to hurt us but we chase that feeling, that happiness we look for in life, so we hang on for dear life. We don’t ever let go. But then God knocks us on our hinny and gets a hold of our heart. But just like the announcer said before, “watch out!” It is not good enough to get off the horse or to simply apologize for sin. That  cowboy got off the horse but he quickly realized it was just as dangerous there on the ground when that horse reared like that. So, we as Christians can’t simply say, “I’m sorry Lord. Please forgive me” No. We have to be alert and watchful. Countless times in the Bible, Jesus tells us not to fall asleep. He tells us to be alert and beware the wiles of the Devil. The woman who was about to be stoned? He did not condone her sin. He forgave her sin, but often times we focus more on the pharasies in that story and think about not judging other people’s sin. But we forget one very important key phrase. ” Go and sin no more”. How do we do that? By keeping our wits about us. By getting out of the way as quickly as possible and fleeing from temptation. We have to be ready for the horse to rear back up in our face and we gotta get moving or we’ll be trampled over by our own guilt and shame. 

Life is like a rodeo. We have our announcer (God), who sees the things we can’t see. If they say get out of the way, then move! We even have the pickup men and bull fighters, our brothers in sisters in Christ who are there to help us and to encourage us and to help us stay out of harms way. And we also have our contestants, those who don’t belong to Christ. Those who are constantly chasing that high and are in an endless search for happiness. Those that we should also want to help and to encourage to do the right thing. While rodeo is considered the most dangerous sport, I beg to differ. SIN IS. It’s a nasty habit that’s impossible to break alone.  Sin is a dangerous game with eternal consequences. And when we come to Jesus and fall off that horse, it’s not always a pretty picture. God gets a hold of us however He can. Even if it means we come to him with a few broken ribs. 

I am not saying if you do rodeo or ride horses, you’re a horrible person. It is just a good analogy for the point I am trying to get across. I hope this encourages you today to be alert and to listen to God and His word.  

Once again, with all the love in the world,

B