Lesson From an Out-of-Shape Elephant

Trainers at the Alaska Zoo have spent months trying to coax Maggie the elephant onto a $100,000 custom-made treadmill, but the pachyderm remains disinterested in her morning exercise routine. She has put two feet on the treadmill and then touched it with a third, but Maggie still has a long way to go before she’s “sweating with the oldies.” Her trainers are letting her call the shots, using treats such as watermelon, apples, carrots, peanuts, bananas and sweet potatoes to motivate her. But so far, Maggie seems rather intent on remaining a coach potato. Trainers remain optimistic they will be able to get her walking after a year or so of work, but Maggie remains unconvinced

Something about this story reminded me of my own attempts to coax myself into a physical fitness routine. Maybe if I would reward myself with favorite foods after a workout, but then somehow I think that a piece of cherry pie would somehow defeat the purpose of the exercise. Ultimately it is not enough to simply know that exercise is a good thing, and I certainly can’t rely on the motivation and positive reinforcement and coaxing of others. At some point, I just have to take responsibility to act on what I know to be true.

The church is in the education and motivation business. Our job (both as a collective body and as individual Christians) is to teach others about God and encourage them to act in keeping with their knowledge. Paul tells Timothy that his job as an evangelist was to “correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching” (2 Tim 4:2, NLT). Preaching is not simply information transmission; teaching is not just about facts and figures. Paul tells the church is to “challenge, warn, and urge your people” (the Message).

But as the old saying goes, “You can lead an elephant to the treadmill, but you can’t make her walk.” (The old saying goes something like that). It is not the job of the church to continually beg, bride and bluster in an attempt to people to do what they already know they should do. Yes, we must continue in what Paul calls “great patience and careful instruction.” The church never gives up on people. But there comes a point when individual Christians simply must take responsibility to put into practice what it is that we have learned about God. If the church does not call its people to personal responsibility and maturity, it may find itself coaxing a flock of obstinate Maggies refusing to budge while demanding more and more attention. At some point, the church must point to the treadmill and say “Walk!”