Judah. He is a perfect representation of the Analolian Shepherd breed standard. He is a fierce protector, but he is gentle as well. He will address any threat without reservation, but he is also a babysitter to lambs and goat kids who often use his body as their playground.
But Judah, like all of us, is not perfect. He was 5 years old when he came to us after being raised on a “sheep only” farm. Being inexperienced livestock guardian dog owners we didn’t realize that proper introductions to other species of animals needed to be facilitated. One day, Judah valiantly defended his flock from a perceived threat. The problem was the threat was our cows.
Judah didn’t know any better. He used his God given instincts to do exactly what he was born to do, but from our human standpoint, he caused harm. Have you ever thought about the fact that the spiritual gifts that God bestows upon us can be misdirected and even harmful depending on how we use them?
For me, it is my words. My words can be used for lifting people up, or my words can sound harsher than they should, and I can unintentionally hurt others. The same traits that allow me to boldly tell others about God (in a world that doesn’t want to hear about Him), are the very same traits that can make me very direct and to the point, and I can easily be perceived as too bold, or too direct.
What are your God given gifts? How can Satan flip them around and use them against you? Let us all be mindful that like Judah, our strengths can also be our weaknesses, but we cannot forget where our gifts come from.
James 1:17 (NKJV)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.