Two Hats

Someone once asked, ‘What good are cowboys?’ I replied that without cowboys, there would be no cowboy songs or western movies or cowgirls.

Have you ever noticed how cowboys seem to have pretty good judgment? Of course, a lot of good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of experience comes from bad judgment. That moral is to learn from your mistakes so you don’t keep repeating them.

Here is some good cowboy wisdom that all of us would benefit from following.

If you’re riding ahead of the heard, look around every now and then to make sure it is still there. When you get to thinking that you are a person who has considerable influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.

Of course, we can all take a lesson from the mountain lion. After eating a whole bull, he felt so good he stood tall and roared for hours. Finally the rancher came along and shot it. The moral there is; when you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

And always remember that there are two theories about arguing with a woman. Neither one work. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

And finally, when you get all upset and feel like going out and kicking something, be very careful to follow these two rules. Never kick a sleeping dog, and never kick a cow chip, especially on a real hot day.

Today is Cowboy Sunday here at CrossRoads. Why? For a couple of reasons. First, it is something different from our norm, and that always adds a little flavor and excitement to whatever you are doing, and secondly, some of you actually have the cowboy heart and it needs spoken to, also.

For those of you who do not know what a ‘cowboy heart’ is. This story might explain it.

There was a cowboy named Joe, and he had just returned to the bunkhouse from going to church for the very first time. The rest of the cowhands wanted to hear what it was like, so Joe poured himself a cup of leftover coffee, sat down in the old wooden chair, and began to tell them.

He said, ‘When I got there, I parked my pick-up in the corral.’ Charlie, a worldly cowboy who had been to church twice in his life corrected Joe; ‘That would be the parking lot, Joe.’

Joe continued, ‘I walked up the trail to the door.’ Charlie said, ‘That would be the sidewalk.’

Joe said, ‘Inside the door was this dude in a fancy suit.’ Charlie explained to the other cowpokes, ‘That would be the usher.’

Joe said, ‘This dude led me to the chute.’ Charlie said, ‘He means the pew.’

Joe said, ‘Yeah ….. that’s exactly what that pretty young lady said when I sat down next to her.’

Cowboys are often made fun of, but they have always been there to do the work most of us could not, or would not do. They are a distinct group of people. Whether it be the cowboys from Arizona or from here in Oklahoma, these men and women have helped forge and mold this country like no others could have done. And they had courage to say what needed to be said when it needed to be said.

There was a man in the Old Testament who had the heart of a cowboy before there were cowboys. His name was Amos. Now Amos was a shepherd in Israel. During this period of time, Israel had experienced peace and prosperity. In fact, they had been blessed so much by God that they started focusing on how much they wanted the blessings instead of how much they needed God.

I prefer to think of Amos as a cowboy preacher. He had courage to stand up and say what he thought and he preached about God’s justice and righteousness. And he condemned those who made themselves powerful at the expense of others.

His main message can be found in AMOS 4:12 –

‘Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.’

That wouldn’t be a bad message to start spreading around America today, would it? Just like Amos did then, we find ourselves today living in a corrupt society. We refuse to let God take His rightful place in the public square. We do all the things that Israel got punished for in their time. And just like ancient Israel, we are too stiff-necked to see it coming.

Look at it from this perspective. We begin our lives with God, even though we do not realize it. We grow up and live our lives with God, even though we do not acknowledge it. And we end our lives with God, even though some people try to deny it.