Thursday, September 24, 2015

Snubbing Seals


      I was watching a National Geographic documentary today, and learned something new (and that’s always a very good thing). It seems that Killer Whales maintain a steady diet of seals. They have been known to literally slide their immense bodies up onto a beach in pursuit of the smaller prey.

      But that’s not even the most amazing part of it. These beautiful black and white mammals have also been seen rescuing, what only a moment before, was their favorite cuisine. I must still be shaking my head, with a silly little smile on my face. Because the film cannot lie, and now I see the massive creature frolicking in the waves, while all the while pushing a little seal towards the shore, and “snubbing” it gently onto the beach.

     Perhaps the old whale had eaten it’s full, or maybe, just maybe it experienced a rare moment of compassion. As human beings we exercise so little grace. There’s an old, but terrible adage about Christians… that we kill our wounded. There was a song, though I can’t remember the name of it. But one line went something like, “Don’t let another wounded soldier die.”

     Maybe we can learn a lesson from the “Killer” whale.
 
By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "Unconventional Devotions" Copyright 2005
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment