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Buster And The Nail
I once heard a story about a man who stopped in a country store in a small town in Georgia, one of those great old buildings with high ceilings and wooden floors. In the middle of the floor was an aging Labrador retriever that kept moaning and groaning, but neither the owner nor the customers paid any attention to him.
Finally, the traveler asked the shopkeeper, "Is there something wrong with your dog?" "Nah," he replied, "that’s Buster. He’s just sitting on a nail."
"Why doesn’t he move?" the man inquired. "I guess it hurts him enough to moan but not enough to move." (Brad Brewer, "Mentored by the King," p. 60)
Boy, does that describe – me! Life can certainly be uncomfortable at times, and we may put up with minor irritations just because we don’t want to face the hassle of dealing with it. Have you ever shivered in bed but refused to get up for an extra blanket?
While this is a minor example, could it be that we create a habit of avoidance toward more serious issues – things about our character or our spiritual lives that are crying out for attention?
I have always found interesting Jesus’ words to Paul upon their first direct encounter. First, Jesus answers Paul’s question of His identity: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5).
Then He turns the discussion to Paul: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” A goad is “a sharpened piece of iron stuck into the end of a heavy stick, with which the ox is urged on. ... To ‘kick against the goad’ is derived from the action of a stubborn and unyielding ox kicking against the goad. As the ox would gain nothing by the struggle ... it comes to denote an obstinate and refractory disposition and course of conduct ... opposing the leadings of Providence to the injury of him who makes the resistance” (Reese, "New Testament History: Acts," p. 352-353).
In some fashion, Jesus had been prodding Paul to come to terms with His true identity, but Paul adamantly resisted the Lord’s goading. While we may not be able to say with precision how the Lord had attempted to prod this proud, zealous Jew, it would be safe to say that at least one way was the knowledge of the Messiah that had been available to this intelligent Pharisee in the prophetic Scriptures.
We cannot conclude that Paul’s conscience had been goading him, for he affirms, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:1). God had expected the Jews to be mentally prepared to recognize the Messiah when He came, through Scripture, through John’s preaching and through the miracles that attested to His identity.
Paul missed all that and, what’s more, set himself with all his energy to fight against Christ. This is a battle he would not win, but Jesus wanted more than merely to vanquish Paul: He wanted to convert and use him.
And so He does with us. But, alas, like Paul, we kick against the goads.
If we are goaded by the spiritual example of others, we might push back by criticizing or undermining that person. We dull the edge of his or her example by impugning their motives or concentrating on a shortcoming.
If we are goaded by the elders with their advice to improve our behavior or take on an uncomfortable responsibility, we may balk by making excuses or convincing ourselves that they are meddling in our private lives.
If we are goaded by our own discomfort – like Buster – we may simply decide that just sitting on the nail is better than finding a new place to lie down. That would take the gumption to get up, the consideration of alternatives, developing new patterns of behavior, seeing the world from a new perspective. And since we don’t want to do all that, it is just easier to moan about our lot in life. “So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key.”
