Galatians 5:1 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not allow yourselves to 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 tied to the ground is our thinking, which I call the “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 “ground” or the chicken coop. In other words, the “chicken mentality” is bound and imprisoned thinking. 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 is known to live longer and strive harder, 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 are 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 engage with. Furthermore, 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 coop 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 see some of the characteristics of the chicken in the chicken coop.
The state of the cooperative: The enclosed chickens are in captivity. In some chicken houses, the chickens are so crowded that they lose their ability to be unique. A captive chicken cannot choose which chicken to associate with and they all become one group that looks like 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 personality and individuality of the chicken is lost in the overflowing crowd.. – What often happens to those who are “chicken thinking” is that they lose their uniqueness because they are cramped 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 situations around you to lead you astray 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 lives longer than a chicken, what steps can you take to ensure a long “spiritual life”?
~The chicken in the coop sometimes dies of obesity due to lack of movement. – When you are not physically “training”, you will see the results of that inactivity in your body. You won’t feel good. You will have no energy or stamina to accomplish what you need to accomplish. 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 must 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 unable to move? The eagle, unlike the chicken, does not wait for someone else to feed it. It waits for the right wind and then it can fly, allowing it to support itself. 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, that for which it was created. This reminds me of the plight of man. In the book of Genesis, the Word of God gives us the account 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 of mankind. However, they took this godly reasoning ability and made wrong decisions. These decisions caused humanity to lose the freedom that God had given it. These sinful man-made choices destroyed families (see Genesis 4). Just as the rooster lost his identity in the chicken nuclear family, the father became scarce in the human nuclear family. All of these conditions resulted from sinful choices… And humanity went to the chicken coop!
Are you in the roost 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 are in a right relationship, but you are 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 while looking toward 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?