Survival Tactics

Zig Ziglar recently wrote the following:

The giraffe is the largest mammal that gives birth while standing up. I don't speak "giraffe," but I can imagine what the baby giraffe must think when he bounces on the ground from that great height. He just left warm, cushioned quarters in which all his needs, comforts and security were provided. Now he finds himself bouncing off (comparatively speaking) hard, cold, unwelcoming ground.

Almost immediately thereafter, a new trauma occurs in the baby giraffe's life. As he struggles to his knees, Mama Giraffe gets busy "persuading" him to stand up. She does this as he wobbles to his feet by giving him a swift kick to prod him to faster action. No sooner does he reach his feet than Mama delivers a booming kick that knocks the baby giraffe back down. . . . I can well imagine the baby giraffe thinking, "Well, make up your mind, Mom! First you kicked me to make me stand up. Then you kicked me back down!" . . .

That process is repeated several times because Mama Giraffe loves her baby. . . . Mama Giraffe knows that the only chance for survival her baby has is to be able to quickly get up and move out of harm's way. Yes, kicking the baby up and down seems like a strange way to show love. But for a baby giraffe it is the ultimate expression of love. Caution: That approach definitely won't work in the "people" world, but the principle will. Real love is evidenced when you do what is best for the other person, whether or not they appreciate it at that moment.


I thought how much we can learn from this in many of our relationships: with employees, with children, with our spouses and with our friends. Is there anyone you need to show real love to by speaking the truth in love?

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 5:15