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The Word's Eye View is a newspaper column written by Hunting... It's a Way of LIfe It’s that time of year when, according to my wife, I start acting weird and seem to develop a one track mind. She maintains that otherwise normal communication is too frequently punctuated by a singular subject that is accompanied by a far away look with occasional snorting and neck swelling. I have observed over the years by informal personal research that this is a disease that particularly affects a large segment of the male population. It seems to be more prevalent in rural areas such as we live in. Wearing loafers, khaki pants and polo shirts and living in metro communities appears to afford some protection against this wretched infirmity. I have no first hand experience at it, but perhaps a big city version of it shows up on the golf course. I have drawn a statewide muzzle loader elk tag and a November deer tag. There…the cat is out of the bag! I am a hunter. This confession has been periodically met with a certain cynicism represented by the comment: “How could a man of the cloth murder any of God’s little creatures?” This philosophy seems to suggest that God must be opposed to all forms of Nimrod recreation. Interestingly, the same people who voice these reservations generally have no objections to a dinner of beef, chicken or fish, having never given a moment’s thought to the procedures that brought the table fare before them. Our authority for forming an opinion will not be PETA or any other politically motivated group, but rather the Bible which pre-dates all opposition. Genesis 25:27 declares that “Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field.” Esau had plenty of character flaws which are pointed out throughout the Word, but hunting is never mentioned as one of them even though God certainly had many opportunities to do so when discussing Esau’s shortcomings. In Jeremiah 16:14-16 God advances the proposition of re-gathering the Jews into the land of Israel (accomplished in the last century) and, in a positive light, uses the analogy of hunters to gather His people. Leviticus 17:13-14 endorses hunting as long as the proper procedures of meat preparation are adhered to. “The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.” (Proverbs 12:27) Clearly, waste should not be tolerated; consequently, trophy hunting with no intentions of utilizing the meat is prohibited. The apostle Paul was listing some false doctrines of the latter times which prompted him to describe one group with these words “….and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.” ( I Timothy 4:3,4) A steward is a person who is given charge of a portion of his master’s goods. (Luke 16:1-12) Good game management is stewardship, and one aspect of this is hunting to keep the numbers under control lest massive amounts of game animals die due to harsh winters, disease and too many predators. If you are not a meat eater it’s alright with me, but I have it on good authority that the word vegetarian is actually an old Indian word meaning “bad hunter!” I wish you good hunting this fall---perhaps my wife is right; I’m already writing about it!
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