Deer season is in full swing and the rut, (breeding season), has finally arrived. During this time of year the whitetail buck’s sex drive is so strong that they often will not eat for weeks on end while they search incessantly for does to breed. During this process they lose substantial amounts of weight that is sometimes so severe that many of the older bucks will actually die from the trauma of it all.
It is a dangerous time of the year for them in more ways than one. If a rival buck is encountered while trying to steal does on their turf, they will often violently fight with the intruder even to death with their sharp antlers. Sometimes their antlers will become hopelessly entangled and both warriors will die a slow cruel death because they cannot break apart from each other.
Too, if it were not for the rut, few if any trophy bucks would be harvested by hunters. Whitetail bucks are among the smartest of God’s creatures and are truly a worthy adversary for the whitetail hunter. They have an incredible sense of smell, excellent vision, and with those big old ears, outstanding hearing, and they live in some of the thickest places imaginable. Most of the year they are almost entirely nocturnal and it is rare to even see one of these big fellows during daylight hours. They use all of their attributes to escape detection and will bound away and seemingly disappear at the very first sign of trouble.
They do have one vital weakness however; and that my friends, is their penchant for the ladies. Someone has sardonically coined: “A many an old buck has lost his head over a little tail”. Yep taxidermy shops begin filling up with whitetail heads this time of year as these old bucks throw caution to the wind and go after the girls. Bucks can be seen running through the woods at any time of the day during the rut, and hunters use this to their advantage to level the playing field.
Hmmm… General Tommy Petraeus and now it looks like General John Allen, commander of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan have joined the old buck ranks. They’ve avoided dying in combat and danger at every turn in wars throughout the globe, but that tempting call of the wild beckoned them to run with the bucks and “BOOM SON!” They’ve been mortally wounded.
The press is having a field day with the scandal of it all, and are loudly screaming for their heads to be delivered to them on a silver platter. The frenzied mob is howling as they pounce on their lust weakness.
Actually their misdeeds are quite common and date all of the way back to the beginning of recorded civilization. Even those in the very highest places with the most distinguished careers can fall prey to temptation. Presidents Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy both had torrid affairs, wannabe president John Edwards fell, Governor Mark Sanford loved a Latin lady, Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino “went down”, and Tiger Woods lost his family (and over a $100 million of his personal fortune) during his days in the rut. Ouch!
Hey it’s not all men either, Angelina Jolie, LeeAnn Rimes, Elizabeth Taylor, Meg Ryan, Jennifer Lopez, Brittney Spears and many, many others were involved in sordid affairs. Actually Eve was the first person to ever fall to temptation, albeit hers was for an apple and not a bedroom.
Lest you think those who love the Lord are immune consider “a man after God’s own heart”, King David. He was a man of great contrasts. He was single mindedly committed to God, yet guilty of some of the most serious sins recorded in the Old Testament. You will recall that he had his one night of lust with Bathsheba and then disastrous consequences began unfolding in his life including his ordering her husband Uriah the Hittite to be murdered in a lame attempt to cover it up.
I often envision Jesus Christ being weakened from fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert which is hot by day and freezing cold at night, and then when He was at His weakest point satan came to Him and tempted Him with everything the world has to offer, (including I’m sure the world’s most drop dead gorgeous women, wine, and song). He did not however, yield to it and remained steadfast answering every temptation by quoting Scripture.
How many of us could have done likewise?
According to the Bible not a single person could have held up. The Bible teaches that no one is free from sin, not one person in the entire world. If we could be good enough to gain entry into heaven due to our goodness, Christ would never have had to visit the cross and die a horrific death. He was the only one who ever lived or ever will live a perfect life free from sin.
Well since we are doomed to occasionally sin, does this mean that we can do whatever we want with impunity because temptation is…well…too tempting to resist?
Oh we can sin all right, but not without consequence!
If you will review the list above you will realize that there were serious consequences for the sins of those listed and like those old bucks many of them lost their heads, as well as their families, reputations, and fortunes over their indiscretions…
It is inevitable that we will occasionally sin, but there will always be a price to pay for it. The Bible states that with every temptation lies a door of escape. We are all best advised to take it as difficult as that might seem sometimes.
One final thought, before you jump on the judgment and condemnation bandwagon in stoning to death a war hero like General Petraeus who has spent a lifetime risking his life to serve this country in an attempt to keep her free – Let you among us that is free from sin, cast the first stone…And before you throw that stone, read the Ten Commandments for a starter…
Matt. 4:1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.