I was reading the book of Proverbs and stumbled across a verse that I didn’t fully understand. Here it is:
“Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.” (Proverbs 14:4)
It’s clear that if you don’t have an ox, you won’t be able to plow the field for the harvest. But as I pondered this verse and read supporting commentary about it, I realized that I had forgotten a very important thing regarding an ox. Although an ox is great to own because it is strong and can pull big heavy plows through the field, there are a few “inconveniences” that come with the ox. It needs to eat and unfortunately, it’s going to produce plenty of manure. How could I forget about that? I guess I wasn’t expecting the Bible to address something as basic (and stinky) as that!
But I will share with you that the ox in Proverbs 14:4 has changed my attitude about a lot of things in my life. I just published a book, but the editing process was so arduous that I was really struggling. My editor caught things that were repeated and we had to keep re-reading the 250 page book to figure out what needed to be corrected. I had to strive to find better ways of wording ideas. For me, it was such a chore and strained my eyes and brain way beyond my comfort zone. It was dragging me down into a negative attitude.
It was then that I read about the ox. God used the ox to correct my attitude and I got the message! The editing, the clean-up, the arduous tasks, were the manure that come with the ox. In a flash my attitude changed to laughter as I thanked God for placing such an important verse in the Bible. If you don’t want the manure, then get rid of the ox! If I want the ox and the harvest, I am going to have to do the feeding and the clean-up of such a powerful, useful animal. After all, there is no harvest without the ox!
My new ox friend has actually changed my perspective on a lot of things in my life. My husband and I joke about the ox whenever we stumble into some manure that we have to deal with. We recently traveled and one of the flights was late, which caused inconveniences. It made for a very long day, we hadn’t eaten at all. We had to wait in long lines and I started feeling like complaining. I said to my husband, “This is the manure that comes with the ox! If we want a trip, have a great experience and make a lasting memory, there are irritations and problems to deal with in order to have the ox!”
Isn’t that the truth? Think about the blessings of the oxen in your life. Your marriage, your children, your job, your home, your health, and so much more. Marriage in particular produces many challenges that might cause you to not want to deal with the manure piles that come with the ox. But we must deal with the aggravations that come with all the blessings of life. Not only that, we should smile during these inconveniences and thank God for the ox.
Our health is certainly an ox that we want to keep around to bless us. But tests, doctor visits, medicines, and even surgeries are the disruptions and annoyances that must take place in order to take care of our health.
Are you avoiding the messy manure that you might have to clean up in order to experience the blessing of the ox? We won’t have a great harvest in our lives without the hard work and troubles that come with blessings.
I thank God for the truth of Scripture that straightens me out when I allow my attitude to be determined by circumstances. Proverbs 14:4 has taught me to have a good attitude and thankful heart when I have to deal with….. the ox.
Laurie Driesen 