Stupid Cow

I am spending the weekend with my son, Jeramy's family.  It's always great being with kids and grandkids. Jeramy has animals....a lot of birds, a few goats, some horses, rabbits, cats, dogs, and until recently, a heifer.  There is also a field of corn that grows nearby.  I don't know a lot about farm animals, but apparently cows and large amounts of corn aren't a good combination.  This particular cow saw the corn, broke through the boundaries that Jeramy had set up and decided to help herself to it  The results are a very bloated, very dead cow.  It's just a cow though, right?  No.  That cow represented food for Jeramy's family.  The cow was scheduled to go to the butcher only a few days after it met its demise.  The time, effort, and money that went into the animal is lost.
Stupid cow...right???  Are we any smarter?  God has placed boundaries for our lives.  The Bible is clear on many issues.  This doesn't just include the Top 10.  There are commands throughout the Bible.  Those boundaries serve a purpose.  They protect us and those around us from the hurt that results from sin and they help to make us a light that can show others the way to the cross. I don't exactly know how cows think, but I wonder if these thoughts went through its head.  "I'll only have a little bit.  It won't hurt me."  "I'll keep it a secret.  It's only wrong if I get caught, right?"  "I can do what I want.  Other cows ate corn and nothing happened."  Let's revisit the results.....the cow is dead and Jeramy's family suffers as a result.  This is what I see in this.  You may think that you aren't hurting anyone, but you don't know.  How many people are looking to you as an example of what a Christian is?  How many people are not being led to the cross because of your choices?  How is what you are doing affecting God's call on your life and what your future was supposed to be?
Mattea and I went for a walk yesterday.  We ended up near where the dead cow is.  Mattea asked me what was so stinky.  She then answered her own question.  "It's the rotten cow, grandma."  She was right.  The choices that the cow made were resulting in a fairly pungent and unpleasant odor.  Are the choices that you are making resulting in an "odor" that will draw people closer to God or is the "odor" making them see God as  something to be avoided?
What is the corn in your life?  What things are drawing you out of the boundaries that God has placed for your protection?  What choices are hurting you and those around you...even if you can't see it right now?  What choices are affecting other people for eternity?  If you're in the corn field, go back to God's boundaries and seek healing forgiveness.  You don't have to have the same future as a stupid cow.