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The Chicken Mentality vs. The Eagle Mentality

Galatians 5:1 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.

There is a specific mindset that we must have in order to be successful and walk free as presented in the scripture above. What keeps us grounded is our thinking, which I call “chicken mentality.” However, God wants us to have the “eagle mentality” if we want to fly and be free. We will examine the chicken and the eagle in relation to how God wants us to see ourselves.

First let me define what I mean by chicken mentality. The chicken is a land bird that lives most of its life inside a chicken coop. Therefore, the chicken in the coop knows only this limited world. When we have a “chicken mentality” we cannot think about the “floor” or the chicken coop. In other words, the “chicken mentality” is a bound and imprisoned thought. now let me define eagle mentality. The eagle is capable of flying great distances for long periods of time. While the chicken’s characteristic changes due to imprisonment, the eagle has been known to live longer and strive, never losing its characteristic, even in captivity. Therefore, having an “eagle mindset” means that you are not confined to conditions, situations, elements, or circumstances. You are always an eagle no matter what situation you find yourself in and you are able to fly above everything.

In my study I found interesting information. Chickens in the wild are particular about the birds they partake with. Also, both the hen and the rooster play important roles in the family. Remember I said in the wild, once the chicken enters the coop, the identity of the chicken changes. This is what happened to humanity. We were created by God to think and be different, but when sin entered; we messed up and were thrown into the cooperative of sins. Now we are like chickens tied to the ground that are imprisoned in limited spaces. Our ability to see above the ground is limited and we peck at the ground for crumbs.

Now let’s look at some of the characteristics of the chicken in the coop.

The state of the Cooperative: Locked up chickens are in captivity. In some chicken coops, the chickens are so crowded together that they lose their uniqueness. A captive chicken cannot choose which chicken to associate with and they all become one group that resembles another. The eagle, on the other hand, is free and can move according to its needs. Even if an eagle is in captivity for whatever reason, it retains its identity.

~ The chicken’s personality and individuality are lost in the overflowing crowd.. – What often happens to those who have “chicken thinking” is that they lose their uniqueness because they are crowded with other “chicken thinking” people. We will lose our uniqueness when we allow pressure from others to act and think the same way to govern our life decisions. God wants you to seek to put on the one mind of Christ. In this way, we can begin to get off the ground in our thinking so that we can become who God called us to be. The eagle regardless of the situations; free or in captivity it never loses its ability to be an eagle.

Consider this: An eagle’s instincts are not changed by its circumstances, how do you avoid allowing the situations around you to divert you from what you know is right? An eagle is capable of making an effort even in captivity, how can you make an effort even in extreme situations? An eagle has a longer life than a chicken, what steps can you take to ensure a long “spiritual life”?

~The chicken in the chicken coop sometimes dies of obesity due to lack of movement. – When you’re not physically “training,” you’ll see the results of that inactivity on your body. You won’t feel good. You will have no energy or stamina to achieve what you need to achieve. In fact, prolonged inactivity can lead to obesity and premature death. Well, God doesn’t want us to be trapped in a prison that prevents us from exercising our “spiritual muscles.” He doesn’t want us to be stuck in a place that keeps us only absorbing but never using what we eat. How many Bible studies should you attend or how many sermons will you listen to before using the information to flex your spiritual muscles? What is the use of reading all the great literature available to us, but we are locked in the chicken coop without being able to move? The eagle, unlike the chicken, does not wait for someone else to feed it. He waits for the right wind and then he can fly, which allows him to support himself. Spiritually speaking, when we are waiting for someone else to feed us and never take the time to fly on the “wind of the Spirit”, we miss the opportunity to feed ourselves the right kind of food.

In captivity, it is clear that the chicken loses its identity, what it was created for. This reminds me of the plight of man. In the book of Genesis, the Word of God tells us that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27 NIV). Humanity was created and given characteristics that resembled God, such as the ability to think and reason, love and make decisions, for example. God gave Adam and Eve everything they needed to be the best parents for mankind. However, they took this godly ability to reason and made wrong decisions. These decisions caused humanity to lose the freedom that God had given them. These sinful man-made choices destroyed families (see Genesis 4). Just as the rooster lost its identity in the chicken nuclear family, the father became scarce in the human nuclear family. All these conditions resulted from sinful decisions… And humanity went to the chicken coop!

Are you in the chicken coop because of a broken relationship with God or because of a chicken mentality? The first step to finding the freedom to fly is to have a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Now maybe you’re in a right relationship, but you’re still grounded, what do you do? The first step requires you to examine yourself. In what areas are you limiting God and keeping your focus on the basic verses looking out at the vast possibilities available to you? Are you ready to fly? It asks you to change your thinking from one that is limited by your environment and situations to one that is limitless and full of possibilities. Are you ready for takeoff?

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