Ride for the Brand

Lessons from a Cowboy

When cowboys signed on to work with an outfit there were specific responsibilities they were expected to fulfill:

• Caring for the land and animals that belonged to that ranch and it’s brand.

• Respecting others and their property.

• If trouble came to the ranch, everyone would be there to stand against it.

• Keeping the water holes clear and clean and praying God would send enough rain to keep them full.

• Giving an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. When you were given a job to do you did it to the best of your ability.

When you did these things, it was said that you were “Riding for the Brand”.

While living in a small town in Texas, I had the opportunity to meet an older cowboy named Lefty. He was left-handed so people called him Lefty. One day we met downtown at a local restaurant to visit over a cup of coffee. While talking he told me this story.

When he was a young man, his family owned and leased many acres of land upon which they ran cattle, goats, and sheep. All the children in the family pitched in to help with the work. When you live on a ranch there is always work to do.

One day, Lefty and a hired hand, that we will call Handy, went on a two-day trip to check on a section of the ranch and its animals. The section of land was a 4-hour horseback ride from their home place. There was a line shack on the place they were headed to so they took food and clothes to spend the night just in case. When you started on a ride like this you just never knew what you might find so you always went prepared.

When they got there a rainstorm began. Early on it was clear this was not your normal rainstorm. It rained hard and constantly. This part of the country was susceptible to flash flooding. The rain continued to fall all night long. The next day it was obvious flooding was going to occur in the lowlands and runoff areas. Lefty suggested they split up and push all the animals up through a pass onto the high pasture. It was going to be hard riding through brush and thorn bushes. If you’ve ever been to Texas, you know trying to ride a horse through unimproved country is rough. Everything you ride through is going to poke you, snag you, or scratch you and if it’s not doing that it will try to bite you, sting you or stab you. Handy protested, he felt they should head back into town before the river flooded and cut them off. You see he had planned to attend the dance that night in town but if they stayed there all day all the washes would be full, and the river would be flooded. They would be stuck there until the water receded. Lefty insisted that they continue to work and move animals to safety, but when they split up for the day’s work Handy took off for town.

When Handy came to the river crossing it was at flood stage. The water was out of its banks and full of debris. Trees had been uprooted and were floating down the river. The water was moving too fast to cross safely but Handy pushed his horse into the water. As they hit the main current the water was deep and moving fast so the horse lost its footing. Both horse and rider were swept up into the river’s unforgiving current. The water pushed them downstream beating them against rocks and trees. Handy was eventually able to grab a tree limb and climb up onto the bank of the river. He took stock of his situation for a few minutes. Most of his clothes had been torn off. He had bad cuts and maybe a broken bone or two. He managed to drag himself up to the road where he was found by a local resident. Once they realized who this beaten ragged person was and who he worked for, they contacted Lefty’s parents.

Handy almost died trying to cross that river. He was in bad need of medical care, so Lefty’s family sent a rider to find the doctor. They asked Handy where Lefty was. He didn’t want to admit that he had abandoned Lefty up at the ranch, so he told them Lefty had died trying to cross the river with him. The family was crushed by grief over the loss of their son. They began a search for Lefty’s body. The family understood that Handy was their responsibility, so they set up a room and provided full time nursing care.

The rain continued for a full week. The entire county was flooded. Every wash that was normally dry was now overflowing with runoff. Water was flowing out of the ground from long forgotten springs. The ground had eroded and left gaps in fences. All the water crossings were washed out and impassable. The damage to the land was extensive.

Back at the line shack Lefty had returned after his days work but Handy didn’t show up. Lefty was worried that Handy had been injured so he started looking for him. None of the animals on Handy’s side of the property had been pushed or gathered. Lefty couldn’t find any sign of which way Handy had started pushing the animals. Lefty moved through the brush looking for Handy and pushing the animals up toward the higher pasture. Once he got there, he counted the animals to make sure they were all there. Still no sign of Handy. Lefty went back to the line shack. When he got there, he noticed that not only was Handy not there, neither was Handy’s gear. He then remembered the fuss Handy had made about returning to town and not staying there. He knew Handy had left him there alone to face the storm’s destructive force.

It rained hard for a full week. After the rain stopped it took several weeks for the water to recede enough for Lefty to turn the animals out again. He had been busy those weeks fixing fences that had washed out during the flooding, keeping the animals on dry ground to keep their feet healthy, keeping food out where the animals could get it, and keeping predators off the bunched-up livestock. There is always work to do on a ranch.

Once the water receded and he felt like the animals were safe Lefty headed for town. He was sure looking forward to a good meal and a hot bath. The ride to the river crossing told a story of bad flooding. Normally dry washes still had water in them. On the banks of these washes was evidence of new erosion, dead animals, and uprooted trees. Lefty wasn’t sure he would be able to cross the river, but he wanted to see. As he approached the river, he could hear the water rushing. He rode the banks of the river looking for a safe place to cross. The river had changed. Debris blocked areas of the river that were normally safe to cross but now were impassable. Once Lefty found a place that looked safe, he crossed the river and rode into town.

The story is that when Lefty rode into town Handy rode out. Lefty was happy to be home but not nearly as happy as his family was to see him. Lefty understood the responsibilities of riding for the brand. All his hard work paid off. When the tally books were checked and animals counted, he had not lost one animal those weeks.

This story teaches us some life lessons that we find in the Bible.

1. God gave you the responsibility to care for the plants and animals around you. Do your job well. Gensis 1: 28-31 NIV: 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2. Love and respect your neighbor and their property. Matthew 22:36-40 NIV 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

3. When trouble comes to your neighbor stand beside them for help, comfort, resources, or whatever the situation calls for. Be present to meet their need. Luke 10 25-37 NIV 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

4. Water is essential to life. If we don’t work to keep our source of water clean and clear then we won’t be very healthy. In the same way we must keep our spiritual intake clean and clear to remain healthy. John 7: 37 – 39 NIV 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[c] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

5. Work hard with what you are given. Matthew 25: 14 – 30 NIV 14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Lefty ended up owning his father’s ranch. He helped the community start an electric cooperative that is one of the largest in the State of Texas. He had money but how he used that money made a difference in the lives of those in his community. I was fortunate to sit and have coffee with this man and learn a lesson from him.

Thanks Lefty!