I did a google search on people sticking their head in the sand, relating to ignoring facts in life, and came up with some interesting facts that I wasn’t aware of.
The idea of a person sticking their head in the sand has to do with that person ignoring obvious facts or refusing to accept advice, hoping that simply denying the existence of a problem will make it go away.
This popular metaphor is believed to have originated with observations of ostriches that appear to bury their heads in the sand to avoid predators. Some people think this behavior results from the fact that ostriches are so stupid that they believe burying their heads will make them invisible to predators. In other words, if they can’t see the predators, then the predators can’t see them.
Animal experts, however, will tell you that this belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid predators is nothing more than a myth. After all, if an ostrich buried its head in the sand, it would soon die of asphyxiation. Given what we know about ostriches, though, it’s easy to see how this myth got started.
Ostriches are the largest and heaviest living birds in the world. Despite standing seven to nine feet tall and weighing as much as 350 pounds, these birds have relatively small heads. When nesting, they dig shallow holes in the ground to use as nests for their eggs. They use their beaks to turn their eggs several times each day. From a distance, an ostrich leaning into a hole to turn an egg could easily look like it’s burying its head in the sand!
Here’s the thing. I was thinking of this scripture in Luke’s gospel when Jesus asked this simple question about saying one thing and doing another.
Luke 6:46
“So why do you call me ‘Lord,’ when you won’t obey me?
I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me.
It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well-built.
[49] But anyone who listens and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins.”
The picture of the man with his head in the sand that I started out with is a word picture of so many that claim to have a relationship with God and yet refuse to deal with real things in life as God directed.
Ask yourself the hard question – Am I doing what God directs or just hiding from the truth ?
Pastor Dale
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