Look Before You Leap

A few years back, my son Jonathan and I had the opportunity to fly fish for rainbow trout in the heart of the Nantahala National Forest, in western North Carolina. It was awesome! We hired Noah, a life-long area native, to be our guide. We made a great choice in Noah. Not only was he able to provide us with superior angler tips and take us to the fish, he was also able to give us play-by-play color commentary on the geography and history of the area as he chauffeured us deep into the Appalachian back country in his four wheel drive pickup truck.

As we neared our destination, he pulled over and stopped at Moses Creek Missionary Baptist Church, a tiny cinderblock building nestled in the valley of Moses Creek. Noah pointed to the mountain ridge just ahead of us and said, “You see that rock right up there that’s jutting out at the top of that ridge? That rock is called Bronus’ Defeat.” Then he told us the following story:

Bear hunting in these parts is a big deal. You run the bears with dogs, otherwise, you’d never catch up to them. A bear can run up to 35 miles per hour. You use a pack of dogs that are bred for bear hunting, appropriately known as bear hounds. The breeding is important, but the training is even more so. Those dogs have to be intelligent, fast, and strong. Bear hounds chase the bear until he’s cornered or treed. When the hunters arrive, they can harvest the bear.

There was a man living in Moses Creek with a bear hound he had raised and trained from a pup. He named the dog Bronus. Bronus was known to be the best bear hound around. So trained and disciplined was Bronus, not only would he not chase a turkey, deer, fox, or other wild local creature, he wouldn’t even bark at anything but a bear.

On one particular hunt, Bronus and the other dogs were hot on the trail of one of the largest bears that had ever been seen in the area. He and the other dogs chased the bear for miles, the other dogs getting further and further behind the bear, but not Bronus. Bronus chased the bear to the top of the ridge. As the bear ran full speed with Bronus in hot pursuit, he came to the rock that Noah had pointed out to us. The bear didn’t slow down, and neither did Bronus. The bear leaped straight off the rock. Bronus followed right behind the bear in hot pursuit. Thus, the name Bronus’ Defeat.

Noah used the story to teach Jonathan and I about “situational awareness,” specifically as it applied to casting our rods when fishing in the creek. He said, “You’ve got to know your surroundings. It’s really easy to get your line hung in these trees. Look around before you cast. Make sure you have situational awareness.”

When the day was over, I doubt if 22-year-old Noah had any idea how much he had taught us, but Jonathan and I were sure of how much we had learned from him. We learned that whether you’re a bear hound or a fly fisherman, you must exercise situational awareness before you act.

It’s the same with life.

Jesus’s close friend, Peter, taught us about situational awareness. He said, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8-9).” The Bible tells us that our enemy’s nature is to roam around the earth looking for opportunities to catch us off guard and situationally unaware.

James, the leader of the first Christian church of Jerusalem, also gave us some great advice for practicing situational awareness: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you (James 5:7-8).”

Thanks, Noah, for teaching us to look around before we cast, and to look before we leap. Thanks for reminding us that Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit to help us be situationally aware.

How is your situational awareness? How aware are you of the temptations and traps around you? Are you casting your future in the wrong direction without thinking about the obstacles of this world just waiting to snag you? Are you so focused on the pursuit of a prize that you’re dangerously close to plunging to your defeat?

Play to win this week in the game that really counts!