DOGFIGHT AND BIRTHRIGHT

Dogfight is a common term used to describe close-range aerial combat between military aircraft. The term originated during World War I. It was the preferred fighter tactic of positioning the aircraft behind enemy aircraft. From this position, a pilot could fire his guns on the enemy without being a target himself. This term came into existence because when two fighter aircraft circle each other trying to get this position, it really resembles two dogs chasing each other's tails. Oswald Boelcke, a German fighter ace, was the first to write down basic rules for aerial combat manoeuvring. He advised pilots to attack from the direction of the sun (towards which the defending pilot could not see), or to fly at a higher altitude than the opponent. Most of these rules are still as valuable nowadays as they were a century ago.
But there is another kind of dogfight that is illegal. Often a stockpile of heroin, or cocaine, gel-caps, marijuana , drug dealers, guns, weights, chains, pit bull terriers, home made harnesses and other equipment are telltale signs of dog-fighting.

Dog-fighting exploded into the headlines in April, after Virginia police raided a house and property owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. After obtaining a search warrant after the arrest of Vick's cousin on a drug charge they found 66 dogs, including 55 pit bulls - some of them badly scarred. Last month, a federal grand jury indicted Vick and several associates. Speaking in a hotel in Richmond Virginia after pleading guilty for his involvement in illegal dogfighting, Vic said, "I want to apologize for all the things that I've done and that I've allowed to happen” He also said, “I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player. I take personal responsibility for my actions.” He also said that he has found Jesus and asked his forgiveness and that it the right thing to do. Now Vick faces up to five years in prison. Judge Henry Hudson will sentence Vick on Dec. 10. He still faces the possibility of facing state charges of animal cruelty, and could face further jail time if found guilty.

Vick had everything going for him. Why did he do that? He earned several millions and was looked on as a hero by many. Businesses had invested in him. He is a very rich man. He need not have gone into dogfighting to earn a few bucks! Now he stands to loose over a million dollars. Its unfathomable how people continue to make “wrong choices” and face the subsequent “consequences” It happens all the time. “Wrong Choices” are made to satisfy an impulse. This could mean shopping in a mall and find that the credit card balances have exceeded your budget (if you have one that is!) or that your bank account is overdrawn. It could mean that a “one time fling” has cost you your family. Or that you are carrying an illegitimate child. “Wrong choices” are also made because of an “inner bondage” that stops you from making the right decision. Let me illustrate:

Esau’s dogfight
Just like Vick “lost” his career and over a million dollars for a few bucks, a similar “dogfight scenario” happened several thousand years ago. Esau was a hunter, and he came home exhausted after a hunting trip. The smell of fresh food cooking over open fire was overwhelming. And he said “Hay, give me some of that soup I’m starving” Jacob his brother said, “Sell me your birthright and I’ll give it to you” Impulsively Esau said, “what’s a birthright useful to me now. I’m at a point that I could die. Give me that soup” Jacob said, “Give me your word” So as the account goes that Esau had his soup but missed out on his birthright. This eventually led to a family feud that lasted years. In other words it is like trading your estate for a piece of Pizza! (Genesis 25: 27-34)

The young man’s dogfight
There is another story about a rich young man who came to Jesus and said “good master what shall I do to have eternal life” Jesus said “why do you call me good?" and went on to say, “You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and honour your father and your mother.” The young man said “I have done these things from my youth” Now when Jesus heard these things, he said, “Yet you lack one thing: sell all that you have, and distribute unto the poor, and thou you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, "How hardly that they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" (Luke 18: 18-24 Paraphrased)

Esau was impulsive, while the rich young man made a choice because of his materialistic mind-set. In both cases the choices that they made impacted their lives. So it is today. Like Michael Vic, Esau, and the rich man in the days of Jesus, we too have to make our own choices. What will they be?

What’s dogfight got to do with birthright? Your birthright is Eternal life. Do not forfeit it by the love for religion, fame, material possessions or for the love of your life.

The most precious possession:
The most precious possession we all have is not our family, religion, wealth, honour, fame or health. But it is our soul. Jesus said “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? “Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8: 36-37) That’s why Jesus died for us on the cross. That’s why He paid the supreme sacrifice and wants us to follow Him. To give our soul to Him is to give Him our all. Jesus said “And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8: 34)

What’s your dogfight? Whatever it is it’s not worth fighting for. Give your life to Jesus and have Eternal life. Want to know more? Go to arise-international-ministries.com.