The Goat Mentality
Read Matthew 25:31-46
I wrote this some time ago, but recently thought about it. I wanted to share it with you. Jesus in scripture talks about separating the sheep from the goats. When Jesus used examples, He used what people were familiar with. What characteristics of a goat show us the things God wants to change? Let's take a look at some of them:
GOATS
- Highly intelligent (1 Corinthians 3:19 – God does not wants us depending on our own understanding for it is foolishness)
- Independent (Proverb 16:18 –God does not want us to be prideful in our own ability because it only leads to our destruction)
- When they are first born they begin to fight with their siblings for their mothers milk (Isaiah 56:11- God does not want us to be greedy, only concerned with filling ourselves)
- The strong survive, if they are weak they are left behind or die (only concerned with self- Hebrew 13:1 - God wants us to think more of others than ourselves)
- Intensely curious and will investigate any thing that piques their interest. Because they are so interested, they are hard to keep confined to their areas. They will jump over fences for example. (Ephesians 4:14- God does not want us chasing after every thing that catches our fancy. He does not want us tossed to and fro.)
- They are aggressive in their behavior (Psalm 37:11 – God wants us to be meek for the meek shall inherit the God)
- They are more adapted to hot weather and not cold. They have to be taken indoors at night times. The are not as adapted to cold weather because of their size weight ability to conserve water limited fat & nature of their coats (They are “fair weather” survivors. They cannot withstand the storms. God wants us to be able to withstand the storms of life. We are able to do this because of our “make up”. He adapts or clothes us to be able to withstand the “cold”.)
- Breeding of goats can be difficult because of the aggressive behavior and confrontational behavior. For example if a male goat and female goat are aggressive towards each other, the male will not mate with her and will keep others from mating with her as well. (Psalm 133:1 – God wants us to dwell together in unity: husbands, wives, children etc.)
Prayer: Lord we ask that you give us the strength to put to death any goat-like characteristics that are in us. Help us to be moldable and usable for your glory. Amen.
