Words of wisdom from a donkey

I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to write about a talking donkey. The record of a donkey speaking to Balaam is amazing. Balaam is riding on his donkey and the Lord is angry because Balaam is not doing what the Lord told him to do. Three times the angel of the Lord Is put in the path of the donkey, and each time the donkey turns aside, even injuring Balaam. We are told that the angel of the Lord had a sword and would have killed Balaam if the donkey had not turned aside 3 times. The donkey could see the angel of the Lord, but Balaam couldn’t. Balaam was annoyed and struck her 3 times. The Lord then opened the donkey’s mouth and the donkey said “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Balaam doesn’t seem to be fazed by the fact that the donkey spoke, as he continues the conversation with the donkey telling the donkey he would kill her if he had a sword. Before Balaam’s eyes are opened to see the angel of the Lord, the donkey makes a good point to Balaam saying “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” Balaam agrees that the donkey had always been trustworthy and had never strayed from the path before. What can we learn from this? One thing that jumps out to me is that when we are in the wrong we often don’t want to listen to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our true friends who have always been loyal and faithful to us are disregarded when they are simply trying to keep us away from the sin and the evil one by pointing out or error in love. I know people that have left the Lord’s body because they want to live in an adulterous relationship or because, for whatever reason, they don’t want to follow God’s commandments. Unfortunately, I have seen folks leave the Lord and then they refuse to speak with their dear friends who are pointing out their error in love. They label the folks trying help them as being narrow minded and not loving. However, this type of behavior isn’t limited to people that have completely abandoned the Lord. Christians from time to time have issues with their own pride that cause them to not want to hear even their loyal friend’s advice to get back on the straight and narrow path. We need to guard against this in our lives. The donkey made the point to Balaam that she had been loyal and should be trusted, not abused. When people say to us “Haven’t I always been a loyal friend who wants the best for you” we should not refuse their correction. The point can also be made that we should work to have good relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ so, if the time comes that we need to rebuke them, they will trust us. Along those same lines when we are refused the first time by an erring Christian, we know we are to take with us another individual to help turn that person from their sin. The person we choose should be a person they love and respect, we should not simply just pick someone that is one of our best friends. Proverbs 15:5 - A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.