Have you heard the story of the elephant rope?

While walking through an elephant camp, a man noticed that the elephants weren’t being caged or chained. The only thing stopping them from escaping the camp was a piece of rope tied to one of their legs.

He was completely confused as to why the elephants did not simply use their strength to break the rope and escape the camp. The elephants could have easily done so, but they didn’t even try. He asked a nearby trainer why these elephants never tried to escape and just stood there.

The trainer replied; “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” The only reason that the elephants weren’t breaking free and escaping from the camp was that over time they adopted the belief that it just wasn’t possible.

Within the Church, many believers struggle with the idea of evangelizing. They may feel that they lack sufficient knowledge or they were conditioned to believe that evangelism is solely the responsibility of clergy and members of religious orders. Additionally, some worry that sharing their faith with others could be seen as proselytizing. However, as followers of Jesus, we are called to make disciples so it is essential to overcome these limiting beliefs and boldly proclaim His love. It is time to break free and recognize that sharing our faith is an act of love that can bring transformative and positive change to the lives of those around us.

Pierre-Alain Giffard

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