Where
no Oxen are the Barn is Clean
Proverbs 14:4To those who serve the church – especially in the capacity of pastor – this scripture says serving God will not be easy, neat, and tidy. “Where no oxen are, the barn is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox.”
This is an obscure verse I’d never noticed before. But the message is an interesting one. Basically, what we see in the Proverb is a tension between the desire for a clean barn and the need for a “filled” barn. I’ve noticed, through the years, that certain tensions are always a part of church life. The tension between being inclusive or exclusive is one example. Are we more like a rescue station or a country club? There’s the tension between “inreach” and outreach. How much effort should we put into discipleship and how much into evangelism? Should we focus on getting closer to each other or on bringing in new people? What about the tension between teaching the word of God and the importance of social outreach? In all these cases, both are needed. The secret is to find a BALANCE that includes both.
Proverbs 14:4 illustrates the tension between keeping the church organized and tidy and keeping the church full and growing. If you want a sweet-smelling, picturesque little show-place of a barn, you’d better not put any oxen in there! On the other hand, if you want a FULL barn, you’ll get some oxen. And you’re going to have to put up with the mess they’re going to make. Clean barns are nice looking. But if you think about it, the purpose of a barn is not to be CLEAN, but to be FILLED. The best time of the year for the farmer is at the end of harvest time when the barns are full of grain. For a farmer, that’s their payday!
So what does that have to do with the Ox? Well, when Proverbs was written, the ox was the farmer’s tractor. He plowed with it, he watered his crops with it, he harvested with it, he ground his flour with it. The more oxen, the more productivity! But on the other hand, the ox was also a source of trouble to the farmer. The ox had to be fed daily, and it took a lot of feed to satisfy the appetite of the working ox. The ox had to be sheltered from the wet and cold in order to stay healthy. He had to be penned in so he didn’t wander off and get into trouble. He had to be doctored when sick or injured; and oh, the smelly mess found in the ox stall!
Do you see the tension here? Dealing with an ox is worth all the trouble if you care about filling the barn. But if what you care about is a clean barn, then by all means, don’t take care of the ones you have and for heaven’s sake don’t bring in any more oxen.
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