on the much misunderstood chicken...

Pastor Ann shared a message on courage in Dawn prayer this morning. She took it from Judges 6 & 7, speaking on the life of Gideon. She used and expression which tickled me very much throughout the session. Basically she said that Gideon was not a brave man at the beginning, but a "chicken".*

Somehow, when I heard that expression, I was like, "Eh, what wrong with being a 'chicken'"?

Do you know:

1) how a mother hen would fiercely protect her chicks if danger (either in the form of small ferret-y creatures, snakes, foxes or eagles) approach the nest/roost? For those who played the game "老鹰抓小鸡" in primary school before, you would have know how a mother hen would protect her brood under the shadow of her wings, when the eagle tries to snatch them out of her reach. That doesn't seems so cowardly to me...**  

2) the talons and beak of a male rooster can tear a centipede into shreds, scratch out the eyes/feathers of his enemies in a cockerel fight, and generally do more harm than you can ever imagine?

hmm, i guess people just popularised the association of the common poultry as "dumb" and "cowardly", because you eat them for food, and they don't fight back.*** To the majority of the younger ones growing up thesedays thinking that chicken comes form the supermarket, I sure would like to see their faces when they come into contact with a live fowl. Hopefully, a jungle/"kampung" rooster at that... :D

So please, do not underestimate the Way of the Chicken!

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*You know, the usual slang for cowardliness

** Based on my hyper-imagination. I didn't grow up in a farm, so cannot say that this took place. And I don't think normal farm life would qualify for air-time on National Geography, so I can't verify this...

*** Well, Colonel Sandlers don't get much respect this day and age... Who's afraid of Colonel Chow's chicken?? :D 

 

P.S. Yes, I know I shouldn't be having such deviant thoughts while listening to the message, but hey, those amusing thoughts just popped into my mind....