Proverbs 26:13

Sham Lions And Real Lions

The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way; A lion is in the streets. Proverbs 26:13.

1. That was what the sluggard said. When his wife wanted him to get up and go out to earn their daily bread, he turned over groaning and hid his head under the blankets. Oh dear, no, don't ask him to go out! There was a lion on the doorstep, a great big, fierce, hungry beast! And what would she do if it made a breakfast of him? Who would earn her bread then? No, no, his life was far too valuable to risk. He was much safer in bed. And so, in a few minutes he was snoring again.

But if anyone had suggested chaining that lion or shooting him, what do you suppose the sluggard would have said? He would have cried out, " Oh no, no! Leave him there, do leave him! I couldn't possibly get along without him. He is my very good friend.”

For I want to tell you a secret that lion was not a real lion at all. He was a stuffed lion put there by the lazy man himself to excuse his not going out to work. He had no real reason for refusing to go out and so he had to invent one, and the lion idea was a splendid one. Nobody could ever expect him to risk his life.

I wonder if there are any lions in your streets? Are there any excuses that you keep handy when you have to do something troublesome or disagreeable? Most people keep a few lions ready for such times. Some keep a whole menagerie of them.

There are the lions that we keep outside the bedroom door when we have to get up in the morning. There are the lions that get in the way of our being obliging or doing any little unpleasant duty. There are the lions that await us on the threshold if we dare to venture to school, that block our path when we should be learning.

I was reading the other day about two boys who invented a wonderful lion of that kind. They were boarders at the same school, and one evening both were late for preparation. Of course the master, after the manner of masters, demanded the reason. So the first boy told a wonderful story of how he had been asleep and had dreamt he was going to Folkestone on a steamboat, and how when he heard the school bell he thought it was the boat bell. Then the master turned to the second boy and asked why he was late. “Please, sir,” he replied, “I was waiting to see him off!”

Now if you have made the acquaintance of any of these stuffed lions, will you cut them as quickly as you can? Nobody really believes in them not even yourself and they can do you no good. For though they are only shams, they are feeding a very real lion that lives in your heart. That lion's name is “Laziness,” and if you make a pet of him, he will gradually devour all that is best in you.

2. We have been speaking about sham lions, but are there no real lions in the street? Oh yes, there are. There are nearly always lions in the way of anything that is worth doing or worth having. There are very often lions in the way of our doing right. These lions are called “Difficulties,” and they are put there, not to frighten us away, but to make us strong, and brave, and true. If we get frightened and run away they will overcome us; but if we face them, we shall overcome them.

In the old church of St. Katherine Cree, in London, an unusual service is held every year on the 16th of October. On that day what is called the “Lion Sermon” is preached. This service has taken place for two hundred and fifty years and this is the story of it.

Once upon a time there lived in the city of London a good man called Sir John Gayer who became Lord Mayor of London. At one time Sir John was travelling in Asia, and when he and his caravan were passing through a desert place he found himself face to face with a lion. The rest of his company had gone on in front and there was nobody to help him. What was he to do? Well, he remembered that God could help him as He had helped Daniel in the den of lions. So he knelt down and asked God to shut the mouth of the lion. And when he rose from his knees the wild beast had disappeared. Had he tried to run away, the lion would have pursued him, but his courage in facing it and his strange behavior in thus kneeling down had frightened it away. When he came back to London Sir John set aside a sum of money to provide gifts for the poor each 16th of October. And he arranged also that a sermon should be preached on that date every year, so that the generations to come might learn how God had delivered him from the mouth of the lion.

Now I don't know what your special lion is. Perhaps it is a hard lesson you find it almost impossible to master; perhaps it is some disagreeable task that lies in front of you; perhaps it is a hot temper that threatens to get the better of you. I don't know what your lion is, but I do know that the very worst thing you can do is to run away from it. If you do that, the lion will be the victor. If you do that, you will prove yourself a coward and you will make it easier for the next lion that comes along to conquer you.

Will you remember two things about these lions? First, they are usually not nearly so terrible or so fierce as they look. Very often their terror is just a picture in our own mind. We imagine that they are much stronger and fiercer than they really are, and when we face them we find they are quite tame and gentle. But it is only by facing them we can find out. Here is a poem I came across the other day, and although the difficulty is called a giant, not a lion, a giant and a lion are very much the same when it comes to facing them

There came a giant to my door,

A giant fierce and strong,

His step was heavy on the floor,

His arms were ten yards long.

He scowled and frowned; he shook the ground;

I trembled through and through;

At length I looked him in the face,

And cried, “Who cares for you?”

The mighty giant, as I spoke,

Grew pale, and thin, and small;

And through his body, as 'twere smoke,

I saw the sunshine fall.

His blood-red eyes turned blue as skies,

He whispered soft and low.

“Is this,” I cried, with glowing pride,

“Is this the mighty foe?”

He sank before my earnest face,

He vanished quite away,

And left no shadow in his place

Between me and the day.

Such giants come to strike us dumb

But, weak in every part,

They melt before the strong man's eyes,

And fly the true of heart.

(C. Mackay, in A Garland of Verse, 101.)

And the other thing I want you to remember is that God is always on our side against the lions. If you feel afraid remember the story of Sir John Gayer and how he was delivered from the lion. God lets the lions cross our path to make us brave and strong, and He is always willing and ready to help us to conquer them.