Toss the Box or I’ll Shoot!
A common old western movie scene has become a cliché. The masked holdup men drag trees across the lonely, isolated canyon road. The stage comes to a screeching, bone jolting stop. And men with black hats suddenly appear. They threaten to shoot the driver and his guard if they don’t throw down the strong box. With a knowing wink at each other, they toss the jockey box, an extremely heavy metal box, to the ground.
After numerous threats, the wagon rolls on out of the scene, much to the relief of the school marm and small boy who ride inside. Then bad guys shoot their way into the metal container. They discover they’ve been fooled. Instead of silver coins, the jockey box brims with rocks!
A Handy Compartment
In the Old West, the box located under the driver on the wagon was called a jockey box. Most of the times, it served as a glorified glove compartment, a convenient place to stick a few extras or personal items for the driver. The jockey box might hold anything from a handgun, an extra box of cartridges, a coffee pot, or a bag of jerky.
But often it filled with rocks too. Pelting a team of horses in the rump with rocks provided an awfully good way of getting their attention and speeding them up. At times, either to meet schedules or outrun enemies, the driver needed that extra burst of speed.
Spiritual Prods
Christians sometimes feel they’re the ones getting pelted. A rock on the spiritual rump can certainly seem like harsh punishment. But the Bible reminds us “that the Lord disciplines those he loves” (Hebrews 12:6). Even a horse running in the right direction gets a rock now and then. Only the driver knows how critical the timing of arriving at the destination might be. And only the driver knows the dangers that extra speed will avoid.
The Bible holds out a promise someday we’ll fully understand the Lord’s correction. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). On occasion, the Lord’s jockey box seems full of rocks. We shouldn’t be alarmed when we feel their sting. Just pick up the pace and keep going.
Stephen Bly
1993
Jockey Box Image by David Nisley from Pixabay
Rock Pile Image by Rob van Ruiten from Pixabay
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“Jockey Box Gambol” audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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