Parents Who Are Wise as Owls

Ephesians 6:4
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

The screech owl is one of the smaller and more inoffensive members of the owl family. While most owls have a large variety of calls and screeches, the screech owl is one that seldom screeches.

Usually the screech owl is little bother to anyone except its lunch. However, when it is time to raise a family, the personality of the screech owl changes, and they can upset many lives. Screech owls don’t build nests; they simply look for a good sheltered place to lay their eggs and protect their young. This could be a natural hollow in a tree or an abandoned woodpecker nest. After about 28 days, the eggs hatch into hollering baby screech owls.

The parents know that their work is cut out for them now. If they don’t provide enough food for their youngsters, the hatchlings will eat each other right in the nest! So parents pay single-minded attention to their young’s needs. They will raid area bird houses and even attack people. In one instance, a screech owl came down a chimney and yanked a canary out of its cage to take back for its hungry youngsters.

It seems that the normally inoffensive screech owl will use all of its resources to provide for its young. Has the Lord provided us with a reminder in the screech owl about how we should place our own children on a higher priority in our own busy lives?

Prayer: Father, I ask that You would help our earthly fathers be more like You. Instill in Christian parents a deeper sense of the need to complete their task of bringing up their children in the training and admonition of the Lord. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Author: Paul A. Bartz

Ref.: Science Digest, March, 1979, page 62. Photo: Eastern Screech Owl. By Greg Hume CCA By SA 3.0 unported

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