Kevin Richardson, “The Lion Whisperer,” once warned a coworker who liked teasing a young lion through the fence—poking at it, waving his hands, treating it like a house cat. Richardson told him repeatedly:

“You’re teaching him to target you. One day he won’t play — he’ll commit.”

But the man kept doing it. Day after day. And the lion changed.

Richardson put it this way:

“First, it was playful. Then it became testing. Then it became intent.”

Months later, the now-strong adolescent lion saw the man walking by the enclosure — not teasing, not stopping — but it remembered. It charged, hit the fence, reached through a gap, and yanked him into the bars, breaking bones and tearing into his shoulder. Staff fought the lion off, and the man barely survived.

Richardson’s takeaway:

“He trained that lion to see him as a target. And lions don’t forget.”

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I fear society as a whole, not only in America, but across the globe, has poked the Lion of the Tribe of Judah one time too many. Although separated by 2000 years, the taunts hurled at Jesus in His day sound the same as ours. There is one major, major difference, however. We are much closer, 2000 years closer, to the day of the Lion’s wrath.

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‍mock, noun
/ˈmɒk/

‍An act of ridicule; a gesture, word, or action intended to make someone appear foolish or contemptible.

1st Century example: “They dressed Him in purple... and mocked Him.”

21st Century example: “Christianity is a fairy tale for people afraid of the dark.”— Stephen Hawking, interview with The Guardian

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derision, noun
/dɪˈrɪʒən/

Open ridicule or scorn expressed through words or actions meant to belittle or dismiss.

1st Century example: “Hail King of the Jews, you saved others. Save yourself!”

21st Century example: “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”— Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion‍

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contempt, noun
/kənˈtɛm(p)t/

The attitude or posture of treating someone as beneath notice, unworthy of respect, or no longer worth taking seriously.

1st Century example: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

21st Century example: “Jesus is a fairy tale for grown-ups.”— Bill Maher, Religulous

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It’s worth reiterating, “Lions never forget.”

Can’t you feel it? It’s as if we’re on the cusp of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, once slain as a Lamb, getting roused from His den.

Can’t you sense the reverberations, like in Hosea 11:10: "He will roar like a lion? When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.”

‍Or similar to the Christ figure in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, “Aslan is on the move!”

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In a private zoo in eastern Czech Republic, a caretaker named Petr Volf raised a male lion from a cub. Over the years, he developed a habit of teasing the lion through the bars—poking at it with a broom handle, tapping the fencing, and pulling at the lion’s mane during feeding time.

Coworkers said he thought it was “their thing,” like a rough friendship.

Except it wasn’t.

In 2012, Volf entered the feeding corridor alone. The lion, now fully mature and outweighing him by 350 pounds, rushed him the moment he stepped inside, slammed him against the wall, and mauled him before anyone could intervene.

The director later told reporters:

“He thought they had an understanding.
The lion understood something very different.”

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“The Man upstairs and I have an understanding. Like a mutual respect,” I heard a man once boast.
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Problem number one: God is not a respecter of persons, whatsoever. Secondly, we don’t “come to an understanding” with the God of the universe as if we were equals. Clearly, we are not.

Do our modern-day prayers resemble pleasantries exchanged among friends, more than awestruck reverence one may feel before a King?

Has indifference replaced anger and hostility towards God, which some may argue is far worse?

Or, worse still, what about that most unsacred space we’ve entered, or transgressed, where The Almighty’s Holiest Name ends with a curse? And yet nobody bats an eye, do we? The last thing we’d ever want to be said of us is, “the people had no fear of God before their eyes" (Ps. 36:1).

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The Lion in Charge

‍In 1981, in Las Vegas, a lion trainer named Allen “Griff” Packer used to lightly tap and taunt one of the male lions during pre-show warmups to “keep him sharp.” Coworkers said he shrugged off warnings, saying, “He knows I’m in charge.”

During a rehearsal, the lion suddenly pounced, dragged him 20 feet, and mauled him severely in front of the crew. He lived, but barely — because the lion simply quit pretending the “game” was a game.

As it turns out, it was the lion who was really in charge.

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What does this mean for 2026?

‍On the one hand, God never negotiates. It’s not like you can make terms with Him. But at the same time, regardless of what you’ve done or where you’ve been, like the thief on the cross, it’s never too late to make peace with Him through His Son, Jesus.

I’ll state this earnestly: If you haven’t done so already, make peace with your God, and do so with urgency. Don’t push it off until next year. Who knows if between now and then Amos 1:2 gets fulfilled: “The LORD roars from Zion, and from Jerusalem He utters His voice.”

‍If so, 2027 could be too late.

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Jesus said, "For those who have ears to hear, let them hear."