Lynn Jones: Be careful about what you pursue in life

By Lynn Jones

      A hunter had a dog named Buck, who was one of the best dogs in the country. The hunter had raised him from a pup and knew everything about him. He had trained Buck to hunt any kind of game that he wanted. 

  A visitor wanted to see him in action, so the hunter agreed to take the man on a hunt. One evening the two met and ventured into the woods with old Buck. In a few minutes, Buck began barking, and the hunter said, “Old Buck has treed a coon.” Sure enough, when they got to the tree, there was a big coon up the tree. A little later they resumed hunting, and before long old Buck began barking again. This time the hunter said, “Old Buck has treed a possum.” Sure enough, when they got to the tree, that was exactly what he had treed. 

  This continued throughout the evening. Buck treed various game, and every time the hunter correctly identified the exact game that Buck had found.

  The visitor was amazed that the hunter could tell, just by the way his dog barked, exactly what he had treed. In a few minutes, Buck began barking again. This time it was a high-pitched yelp broken by a few long, bawling sounds. The visitor turned to the hunter and asked, “What’s old Buck got now?” The hunter listened a little longer, and then he said, “Old Buck ain’t got nothing. Something’s got old Buck.”

  It is a fact that sometimes in life the tables turn. The hunter becomes the hunted. The one seeking to capture something in life instead becomes the captured.

  It works that way with sin. With sin there is a boomerang effect. When a person throws a boomerang, he had better be careful because the boomerang can come whizzing back and hit him between the eyes.

  A person who pursues drugs or alcohol may soon find himself in the tight-fisted grasp of the thing he has been pursuing. A person who gives himself to an immoral lifestyle may find that there is very little life in this style. Instead, this way of living squeezes the life out of him.

  A refusal to come clean about our sin will, in the long run, lead to our becoming the slaves of that sin. Satan does not come to give abundant life but to kill, to steal, and to destroy.

  On the other hand, sometimes the tables can turn in the opposite direction. Someone who is simply going through the motions of serving God and caring for other people can be captivated by the reward and the joy of living in this way.

  What are you pursuing? Be careful because you may not get it. It may get you.