Bringing People Together
By: Joey Barrett
Hunting in a lot of ways is a brotherhood. Sure, there are different factions of hunters, bow hunters, gun hunters, deer hunters, duck hunters, etc. But hunting has the ability to draw people together from all walks of life. There are very few things that are able to do this, hunting is one of them.
Sports is another area that has the potential to draw people together that otherwise would not associate with one another. At a young age I experienced this first hand. Growing up in Ohio, the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team made it to the Final Four in 1999. I distinctly remember being in junior high school and eating at a Wendy's in a nearby town. My grandfather and I sat down to eat and before you know were approached by another man and his son and we began discussing the run that the Buckeyes were making that year. My grandpa probably knew the man but I remember thinking to myself, this kid and the school that he goes to is a rival to my school, why are we talking with the enemy? It proved to be a lesson in how narrow minded I was at the time but also of how a common interest can bring people together.
Christianity is a brotherhood. Its purpose is to draw people together to worship the creator through His Son Jesus. The Gospel has the power to bring together people in ways that hunting and sports never can. The apostle Paul wrote, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4). Sports and hunting are categories in which we fuel our own interests. If others have the same interests as we do, great, welcome to the team, but if they don't, so be it, we move on.
Imagine if we were to take the Philippians 2 principle and apply it to our hobbies, our job, and our everyday lives. Hunting no longer revolves around me and my selfish interests, work stops becoming about climbing up the ladder at all costs, and our lives become enriched not only by serving Christ but by looking out for others.
Hunting can fill your freezer, for awhile. God can fill your soul, for eternity!
