WESTERN WISDOM Season 4, Episode 01 "Five Beans in the Wheel" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
"Safety First in the Old West" blog post article found here: https://www.blybooks.com/2022/05/safety-first/
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5 Beans in a Wheel
Stephen Bly, Circa 1995
We live in a safety conscious society. We use seatbelts, air bags, smoke detectors, and lawn mowers that die when you turn loose of the handle. For the most part, these inventions improve our lives.
We're told its smart to take precautions rather than charge into situations like a wild, reckless cowboy. But here's the truth of the matter. Old-time cowboys were a cautious bunch. They didn't purposely endanger their lives or any one else's, if an honorable alternative presented itself. They even instituted a few safety precautions so no one got accidentally hurt.
OLD WEST SAFETY
One example, old-timers carried only five beans in a wheel. This colorful phrase indicated they only loaded their six shooters with five cartridges, the safest way to load a single-action revolver. With only five chambers filled, they let the hammer rest in the safety position on the empty chamber.
That left no way for your weapon to accidentally go off and hurt anyone, especially yourself. Of course, that also left only five bullets to do your work. But most westerners figured if they couldn't get the job done in five shots, they might as well ride fast to safety.
FEWER ACCIDENTS
In a day and age of the necessity of loaded guns in every home, much fewer gun related accidents happened than we have today. Safety was a daily concern.
In a similar manner, spiritual safety ought to also be a constant focus today. Hopefully, we've taught children how to be careful around loaded weapons. However, we can then shove them out into a world with many more dangers than accidental bullets.
WISDOM FROM ABOVE
For instance, God's wisdom should be our safety for all we do and say. God's wisdom doesn't aim to take anything away from us. It's given to keep us from getting hurt.
"Whoever listens to His wisdom," the Bible says, "will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm." (See verses such as Deuteronomy 30:19,20)
In the Old West, only a rank pilgrim would shove six cartridges into his revolver. Not a safe thing to do.
Ignoring God's teaching in the Bible is a whole lot more dangerous than carrying six beans in the wheel. Only the rankest spiritual pilgrim would place himself or his family in such a precarious position as to ignore God's wisdom.