Old West cowboy & his very necessary horse
Horse Thieves Beware!
A friend drove me to a conference in a large eastern city where I would speak. Even though security guards patrolled the parking lot at the event facility, I discovered crowbar looking devices bolted across vehicle steering wheels.
“To protect from theft,” my friend explained.
In the Old West days, most everyone rode horses. Nothing could prevent horse thieves from stealing an animal. No blinking lights or sirens, beepers or steering lock devices existed. But in spite of the fact horses often stood out in the open, horse stealing rarely happened. Part of the reason? Horse thieves hanged. No trial. The sentence got carried out at the nearest tree. That tended to discourage horse theft.
Horse Thieves Justice
But did the punishment fit the crime? That’s the real test of justice.
Most cowboys rode $10 horses and owned $40 saddles. A death sentence for stealing a ten dollar item seems stiff. But in those days, a
horse meant survival. Those on foot had little chance of safe travel, what with wild animals, outlaws, cattle and buffalo stampedes. Also range fires, renegades and criminals, snakes and thirst threatened as enemies. A horse provided a running chance.
A Fighting Chance
We all need a fighting chance to overcome hardships. A horse may not help in a spiritual wilderness, but faith will. Nobody has the right to steal or undermine another’s faith.
Jesus warns, “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.” (Mark 9:42)
To mess with a weaker one’s spiritual conscience should be considered a capital offense. Think about it. What actions or words could cause a child of God to stumble? How could you strengthen someone’s faltering faith today?
Stephen Bly, 1993, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUDIO PODCAST Down A Western Trail by Stephen Bly, “Horse Thieves & Faith Theft” episode, part of the bi-weekly BlyBooks.com Legacy Series. Please SUBSCRIBE, RATE, REVIEW.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stephen Bly blog and audio podcast on Frontier Faith here FRONTIER FAITH
At a time when we see frequent looting in our cities and hear of fraud and embezzlement in our agencies and businesses, the theft of material goods has become a common occurance. We might find ourselves becoming a bit immune to what should shock and compel us to a renewed effort to re-evaluate the moral fiber of our society and reinstate the strict moral child-rearing principles of our grandparents’ generation . But the theft of another’s faith must never, in any way, be tolerated or accepted. The salvation of a soul must not be compromised or left to chance. It can in no way be compared to the “ownership re-assignment” of material objects. Stephen makes this point in his usual compelling and comforting manner and so I find it wonderfully easy to hear and accept and prayerfully put into practice, lest I be “thrown into the sea with a millstone tied to my neck.” Thank you, yet again!!
Eleanor: Thanks so much for your response! Greatly appreciated! Blessings, Janet
Clear and simple truth, as always! As a Christian western author, I appreciate the way Stephen illustrates Biblical principles with examples from the old West culture. The same God who leads us today also led the folks who lived in our historic past. Thank you, and may God continue to bless the Bly family.
Mark: As you can tell, Stephen loved writing about the Old West. God’s blessings to you, too!