Eagles Shouldn't Be Caged

Eagles shouldn't be caged. Eagles are born to fly to heights of 10,000 feet, sore on invisible streams of wind, cruse at 35 mph during level flight. Eagles need thousands of acres in which to hunt and high trees and mountain cliffs to build their 5 ft. diameter nest. They need to hunt, kill, eat, mate, and feed and protect their chicks.

Eagles shouldn't be caged. Eagles are professional fisherman. Like all birds, eagles have color vision. Their eyes are almost as large as a human's, but 4 times sharper than a person with perfect vision. An eagle can identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away. Flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country it is possible for an eagle to spot prey over 3 square miles.

Eagles shouldn't be caged. From several hundred feet above the water a soaring or flying eagle can spot fish. And since most fish are counter-shaded, darker on the top and harder to see from above, this is an extraordinary feat.

So, why is this eagle caged? It has a permanent injury. Release means death. Kind keepers provide a safe place for it to live out its life. A nice thing to do. The eagle seems content but it's not the creature it was created to be. Life restricted. Food provided. Needs met. But there are no wind currents for its 90 inch wing span to battle, no enemy to fight, no resistance, no risks, no fresh fish or live rabbit to hunt. In a cage, life is safe and soft.

Eagles shouldn't be caged. The cage that protects also kills. A slow, undetected death, but death nevertheless. The cage kills the eagle's soul. It flutters from one branch to another. It eats what's provided. No challenges. No risks. No resistance. No reward. It lives out its days as a trophy to caring humans and a wonder to admiring tourists. But inside this grand bird is dying. The cage robs the eagle of its "eagleness."

We shouldn't be caged either. Take away our freedom to soar, to resist, to build, to reproduce, to live freely and fully, and our souls wither and die. A cage, no matter how good the intentions, is still a cage. Cages tend to become permanent. The keepers have the key. The occupants adjust to their confinement. Freedom is forgotten--a hazy dream of what was.

Watch out for cages that offer a safe place, a quick fix, a helping hand. No matter how inviting, it may become your permanent home. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again with a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1.