"The Chicken Coop Classroom"

“The Chicken Coop Classroom”

In previous postings I’ve told of my interest in finding the origins of expressions we use to describe some of the situations we encounter in everyday life. One which came to mind recently is “Don’t let the fox guard the hen house”. Basically it means “Don’t give someone a position they can exploit for their own ends”. Its roots are unclear but some trace it back to an anti-imperialism conference held in Brussels, Belgium in 1927 to discuss colonialism throughout the world. The movement never made a significant impact before World War II (probably because some involved had a vested interest in keeping the status quo) but a case could possibly be made that it fueled the drive towards independence for many countries during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Today relatively few areas are still controlled by a “mother country”.

Just recently this saying took on new meaning when Karen called my attention to a news story from an agricultural school in France in which a fox looking for its lunch somehow got trapped in a chicken coop and was pecked to death by its occupants. (It makes one think of “hen-pecked” in an entirely new way!) When threatened the feathered friends didn’t scatter or cower in fear—rather they worked together to deal with their enemy. And the result speaks for itself.

The French hens (presumably more than three) met and fought their foe with a united effort. Too often we as God’s people do just the opposite: we allow division to enter our ranks and begin to fight each other so we’re weaker when Satan attacks. In the long-running satirical comic strip “Pogo” created by Walt Kelly the title character, a possum, says, “We have met our enemy and it is us.” Why does this happen? Our Lord’s brother provides an answer: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1). If we’re out to fulfill our personal agendas we’ll fail, but if we put our preferences aside and work together victory will come.

During their wanderings in the wilderness God told the Israelites that if they obeyed Him, “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall….” (Leviticus 26:8). See how much more can be accomplished by cooperation than competition? So let’s stop being dumb clucks, wipe the egg off our faces and learn from some of God’s creatures.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan