Chris Crum, On Thanking the Lord and Obeying the Rules - And a Bear

As hunters we have an obligation to do the right thing while hunting. I wish I could say that I have never broken a single rule while hunting. I remember one time when I was younger my dad and I went turkey hunting. Our neighbors stopped to chat as we were walking down the road and asked what we were doing. When we said turkey hunting they looked kind of shocked and said not to tell anyone. I thought it was strange. We never came close to getting one, but I had to reread the regulations when I returned because my neighbors’ words still puzzled me. I found that while it was turkey season, it wasn’t in the county that I lived.

I remember when hunting regulations were one page folded into a pamphlet. Now we have a small paper back book to read. Although it makes it more difficult to know every rule, ignorance doesn’t excuse us from not following them.

1 Peter 2:13-15 states: Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

So what does this have to do with my bear hunt? Well, I really enjoy bear hunting. Bears are fascinating creatures to me. In the two states that I do most of my hunting baiting is illegal, making it difficult to harvest a bear without the use of dogs. I don’t own any hunting dogs and I don’t know anyone that does that will take me. So this leaves me with the option of going to bear country and hoping that I cross paths with one. This is not an extremely successful strategy. I have hunted bear for the past 6 years without getting one. During this hunt I was not having any luck finding any bear sign until I happened to come across a big pile of moldy, soggy doughnuts and saw bear prints in it. While I didn’t place any of the treats there, it still didn’t seem right hunting in the vicinity of it and I had to relocate. There was another dirt road/trail about a mile away and it had plenty of bear sign and not too much human sign (a perfect place). The first evening resulted in zero bears but my friend saw two. On the second evening I was able to harvest this bear. As we road off in the darkness with the bear on the four wheeler, my friend said, “Doesn’t it feel good to do things right?” Yes, it does. The bear won’t make any records, but he is a trophy to me and I don’t have to be shamed by the presence of his hide or the memory of his harvest.

Thank You Lord for providing an abundance of game. Thank You for the opportunity to spend time with friends in the outdoors enjoying the pursuit of it. Thank You for the harvest You blessed me with. Above all, thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross so that all may have the free gift of eternal life. Please give me and every Christian sportsman the strength to obey the rules no matter what our personal opinion on the matter is. Help our hearts to line up with Your will for our lives. Amen