The Case of the Pilfering Peacock

Such little things under ordinary circumstances: a few pots of lettuce and a little spinach. But in a country like Pakistan, and in the heart of the Sindh, anything resembling salad is as hard to find as hen’s teeth; well, in this case, peacock’s teeth.

My friend, Hannah, is a retired missionary nurse. Actually she became a retreaded missionary nurse, having returned to Pakistan several times several times after retirement to fill a desperate need for nursing staff at the hospital she first went to serve in back in the 1960s.

 

A wall surrounds the hospital. On the grounds are the homes of the medical staff and some of the Pakistani people who work at the facility. It also seems to be the favourite place for the peacocks from the local Temple to hang out. 

 

It had to be the lettuce and the spinach that attracted them. When she first noticed the peacocks, Hannah admired their beauty—until she noticed that they were lunching on the spinach. She tried to shoo them away. “Persistent” seemed to be the middle name of a peacock, closely following the word “pilfering.”  Hannah tried surrounding the spinach garden with a fence. The peacocks simply hopped over. She and the gardener chased them. They easily flew over the roof of the hospital and made their escape.

 

When they came back to loiter over the lettuce pots, Hannah sent a message to the priests at the Temple, and asked if they could please come and collect their peacocks. Five men arrived and the birds took off over the wall. Two hours later they were back to forage on the flowers.

 

Hannah was getting desperate. She sent the hospital security guard back to the Temple to get someone to come and collect the peacocks, which fled once more to the roof. At least with everyone in hot pursuit, the birds didn’t get much of an opportunity to eat anything!

 

Hannah’s conclusion to the story was an interesting one. She commented on how much their beauty attracted her and almost blinded her to how destructive the birds were. Admiring them—and chasing them—easily became a time-waster, time that was better spent on more important things like preparing her Bible Studies for the ministry she was doing with the Pakistani nurses and aids. The lettuce and the spinach seemed like a good cause, but even good causes can get in the way of better ones. 

 

Ephesians 5:15, 16 (ESV) says: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

 

Most of us have “peacocks” in our lives. They are beautiful and they may even be good. But they get in the way of Kingdom business. 

Look carefully. 

 

Walk wisely.

 

Make the best use of time. 

 

Hannah’s peacocks didn’t go away, but she’s learning to ignore them.

 

 Image by Vane Monte from Pixabay