Bird in the Hand
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” The saying has been around a long time and is often cited. It springs from a time when it was common to go hunting in order to provide meat for the table. Wild birds could be difficult to procure, so it was considered wise to be thankful and satisfied when one was gotten.
Solomon’s rendition of that saying adds considerable understanding, however. “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 6:9). Combining both statements, we can see that it is wise to be content in all our circumstances. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:11-12). There is nothing wrong with hoping for two birds for the table but fixating on what we do not have can allow a wandering of desire and an imperfect heart.
King David was a man who wanted to have a perfect heart before God. Here are his thoughts, “I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me” (Psalm 101:2-3). Throughout the course of his life, David was learning to focus on what God provided – the bird in the hand — rather than even considering the wandering of desire. He knew that true contentment could only be his if his efforts were expended to bring glory to God and not to satiate carnal desires.
Christ is a perfect example of the “bird in the hand” principle. “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34). Figuratively, He set nothing wicked before His eyes. There was no wandering of desire. The thing that gave Him satisfaction and undoubtedly, contentment, was in doing His Father’s will.
God’s way of life, and His will in our personal lives, is our bird in the hand. Finding contentment and satisfaction in that will make the Apostle Paul’s conclusion true in our lives as well. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Marshall Stiver
