Donkey

 A whip for the horse, a  bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools. Proverbs 26:3 ESV  

 In our days of animal and human rights activism, this  proverb probably won't go down very well. But the ancient world emphasised responsibilities over  rights. A horse had a responsibility to get the messenger from the sender to the recipient as fast as  possible. We forget that in our age of instant communications. If a horse is dawdling when the  king needs to know an enemy army is invading, it needs to be whipped into a gallop.

 A donkey is a  beast of burden, and it needs to bear the burden willingly (although donkeys are notoriously  stubborn). A donkey needs to be bridled so it doesn't impulsively run off to the greener grass on  the other side. So Solomon wasn't an animal rights activist.

 But neither was he a human rights  advocate, if that human was a fool. As king, Solomon wasn't afraid to command a beating for a  foolish and disobedient servant. We live in days when everyone feels so very entitled.

 But we  forfeit our entitlement to not be beaten if we act the fool. Foolish people deserve whatever they've  got coming to them, whether they like it or not.

 "Father God, don't let us delude ourselves that  we're entitled to anything other than the hell we deserve. But we praise You for Your mercy to us  in Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen"