P4E.072 The Wolf and the Lamb

(11th in a series on predator patterning)

I think it is significant that Scripture characterizes the golden age that the Messiah will usher in as a time when "the wolf will lie down with the lamb." I believe that we are used by God to answer our own prayer of "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."

To be available to Him for His use, I need to bring my predator self to a place where I live in peace and harmony with my prey. I'm also responsible to gain the trust of my prey to the point where my prey will trust me enough to be vulnerable and know that it won't taken advantage of .

Predators are single-minded. They are intense. They know what they want and focus all their attention on it.

For me, it has looked like this:

1. I have highly valued, well thought-out opinions (political, religious, moral, child rearing principles, time and money management, music, etc.) and have no problem expressing them. My wife and children are the first to know what these are. I will not tolerate contrary opinions. I will argue like a lawyer to defend my position. (If it ain't country, it ain't music. I'd rather push my Ford than drive a Chevy, you know?)

2. I watch like a hawk (predator) to make sure that these principles are lived out in other's (mostly wife's and children's) lives. When they aren't, I perceive it as weakness. I pounce, like a lion (predator), on other's mistakes, point them out and demand that they are corrected.

3. Physically, the hair might go up on the nape of my neck, I throw my chest out, shoulders back, I jut my chin, lean forward, squint (or explode) my eyes, frown, raise my voice. In other words, I get "big" (which is no small feat for me).

4. When someone is about to do something I disapprove of, I am able to transmit my disapproval by a "look" or a sound. I can transmit my intensity to the unlucky prey from across the room.

So, with that in mind, the next step in overturning my predator patterning is

Step 3: Don't be so Intense!

This is intertwined with Step 1: Purpose to let others go first, because to become less intense I have to give up my opinions, quit focusing on the weaknesses of others to exploit them and suppress the physical attributes of a predator.

I think we've all experienced when someone wants their way and tries all sorts of methods to make it happen. The intensity that those persons use to achieve their demands is what I'm talking about. As usual, it's easy to see it in others but more difficult to identify in ourselves. God help us...

Peace, Kim