What Gate?
“Get the gate” is a phrase I heard often in my childhood to ensure that either we remained protected, or something didn’t stray from safety. You may be asking yourself what in the world “getting the gate” has to do with anything pertaining to me. Furthermore, I don’t live in rural area, deal with cattle, or livestock, nor do I own a home with fenced off boundaries. I assure you brother, getting the gate applies to much of life, and I intend to reveal the truth of this concept to each of you through my life experiences and the truth of God’s word over the next few minutes.
Gates the protect from outside dangers.
As a young man growing up in a small town in rural West Texas, there are numerous lessons to be learned. One such lesson is to always remember to get the gate. Honestly, I did not grow up on or own a farm, however many of my friends did, and my dad’s best friend and business partner did as well. It was within those relationships, and life experiences that I learned this valuable lesson.
There were gates to our back yard. We shared three lots with my Dada and Memaw, my dad’s parents. Our home sat next to theirs and our fenced yard encompassed both houses, a cellar, several pecan trees, a grape vine, and my Dada’s carpentry and crafting workshop, and we always had dogs and even a pet pig when I was very young. We learned early that leaving the gate open meant that our beloved pets could get out and potentially harmed or worse. I have the distinct memory of a beloved pet getting run over by a car right in front of our house.
There were gates into the fields on the farms that I either worked on or visited, of which, many of them housed cattle, sheep or other livestock. A gate left open could mean devastating losses for the farmers and my friends. There were many occasions where my dad and I were asked to come help round up cattle that had escaped and were running amuck.
Gates that protect from inside dangers
It is important to call out the fact that in many cases gates are for our protection. There were many times in the FFA (Future Farmers of America), where we were treating an animal, be it cattle, sheep, or hogs and we would separate out the other animals, confining them to the next pen. As we were treating the animal and they began to make noises of distress, the other animals would begin to become distressed as well. Those gates protected us from potential harm from those that did not understand that we were there to help.
Just north of the tiny town of Loraine where I grew up, there was a farmer that raised a specific type of cattle called Brahman. We pronounced it (Brahmer), and if you have never seen them, they are very unique. The bulls have a distinct hump on their front shoulders and have long floppy ears. This farmer had a bull that was huge, probably went close to 1,000 lbs and was mean as a snake.
My friends and I often rode our bikes past this farm, and it never failed, once that bull saw us on our bikes he would charge that fence line and snort at us while pawing the ground. If that bull had ever gotten out, I don’t know if I would be here today. Thank God for fences and closed gates. LOL
Life Lessons
After 56 years of life, I have come to realize that many of the learnings from my childhood were so much more than the Gate right in front of me. The lesson of the gate flows into every aspect of our lives. Our familial relationships, our marriage, our job, and even our spiritual lives. Getting the gate is the fundamental concept of ensuring your guards are in place.
Getting the gate at Work
In relation to work and business, there are many examples I could share from every aspect of my life. An incident at work years ago that almost cost me my job, and much anxiety for many that I cared about. This incident caused me to develop my COYOTI rule. Cover Your Own Tail Idiot! That learning has served me well for years.
Getting the Family gate
Within my family I have learned to be vigilant about those open gates as well. The family as a whole is under attack, in particular your children. If you are not manning the gates of your kid’s social media, internet use, and even those they hang out with, you are leaving them exposed to a myriad of potential pitfalls that could cause them serious harm and destroy your family.
Getting the gate in Marriage
Within my marriage, I have learned that there are gates that must be identified and manned. Gates through which can enter temptation and struggles. Gates through which you may pass and exit the safety and sanctity of the marriage covenant relationship. It is important as a man to understand and protect. Without sharing too much, I can tell you that because of MY lack of “getting the gates” we could have easily been divorced years ago. It is only through God’s grace and her resilience that we are where we are today.
Biblical GATE Teachings
By now you might have noticed that the fundament concept of getting the gate is really a “Mind and Heart” concept. Ensuring our guards are in place.
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV), says “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour”.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV), says “Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”. The Greek word for guard means to keep above all keepings.
We guard our heart because it shapes our thoughts and our words. For most of us, what we think is usually what we say, though we may not always say everything we are thinking. Which is likely a good thing.
I would be remiss if I did not mention Nehemiah chapter four. As they were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, that had been torn down in war, there was a very real possibility of attack. Enemies in the area did not want the wall rebuilt, as it would strengthen the Jewish Nation once more. There was rumor of an attack and they were all getting tired from the building. The people building the wall said there is too much rubbish/rubble from the torn down walls, we will never finish, (my paraphrase).
Their enemies said because of all the rubbish we will sneak in and attack before they ever know we are there, (my paraphrase). Not only was Israel’s gates open, but their walls were down also.
Bringing it Home
Isn’t that real life for most of us? We have so many issues and so much baggage we are trying to live and sift through, that protecting the weak spots, or the open gates aren’t even on our radar. This truth explains why we must be focused on “getting the gate”. Men, we are called to be the protectors of our family, and the spiritual leaders. How can we do that if we aren’t guarding the gates of our heart and mind?
My prayer for you today, is that you begin to see the enormous importance of “GETTING THE GATE”, both in your own heart and mind, and subsequently your marriage, family and all other aspects of your life.
Parting Questions
What are some of your own Gate Getting experiences? How can you apply this concept to your own life, wherever you find yourself today?
Thanks for playing along.
Remember “All of life is ministry”
Rick
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