Those Who Trespass Against Us

 

 



 

In Texas, over 95% of land is privately owned.
Contrast that with Mineral County, CO, where 95% of the land is public, and you can see a vast difference in the potential to trespass, intentionally or otherwise.

Texas land owners have little tolerance for trespassing, which sets up a dilemma for the angler seeking access to waters surrounded by private land.

The law regarding access for rivers and streams in Texas is that the stream-bed and water belong to the public if the stream is navigable.  By statute, if the stream-bed is thirty feet wide from the point of interest to the mouth of said stream, it is generally considered navigable. But water law being what it is, there are shades of gray.

Full disclosure, I am not completely innocent of trespassing, although in my defense they were unintentional.

Once I was having a great time fishing for bass in a nearby neighborhood pond, when I was approached by a polite gentleman and asked to cease due to HOA rules. There was a  "No Fishing" sign but I had honestly missed it.  The rule was put into place because conventional gear anglers had so often snagged and damaged the pump for the aeration fountain in the middle of the pond that the HOA decided to no longer allow fishing. The gentleman said he knew that fly fishers were not the cause of the damage as the pump was well out of reach of a fly cast, but rules are rules.

Another time in the aforementioned Mineral County, I learned that while private land is in the minority, it is defended with vigor. Unlike Texas, Colorado landowners can have title to the stream bed. I started out fishing a public section of the Rio Grande, but waded downstream into an area privately owned. I found out later that I was being shouted at by a homeowner, but I was unable to hear her over the rapids. The only indication of private property in that instance was a white post on the riverbank, which even if I had seen I wouldn't have interpreted correctly.

In both of cases, when my infraction came to my attention, I felt like I deserved to be excused because I had not trespassed intentionally.

On the other hand, if I find someone on my deer lease that isn't supposed to be there, I am not inclined to overlook that as an accidental offense. Fences and locked gates are not accidentally overlooked.

I have similar disdain for the locals who had to be run off twice (in successive days) from a friend's ranch that has a small lake that I have permission to fish. They claimed they got the gate code from "someone" who told them it was ok to fish there. Amazingly, they came back the next day, and when told to leave, claimed they didn't understand that their expulsion the previous day meant don't trespass again.

I tend to want justice when it is applied to someone else's trespass, but I want to be excused when I am the trespasser.

This is grace versus justice; the conflict in the classic book Les Miserables that drove Javert to take his own life because he could not reconcile the grace bestowed on Valjean  in light of the demand of the law for justice.

One version of the Lord's prayer in the Bible says in part "...forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". That sounds great when we are the trespasser, but it sounds unfair and difficult when we are the offended party. In another passage the Bible clearly states "Forgive and you will be forgiven" Luke 6:37.

What does that look like? When neighbors shoot fireworks long after my bedtime. When drivers cut me off in traffic. When someone has 16 items in the "15 or less" express lane (do eggs count as 1 item or 12?). When a co-worker takes credit for my work. When a friend betrays me. When a leader  lies about me. When a child disrespects me. When my truck is stolen.

This isn't to say there are no consequences for breaking the law. But those consequences are the purview of the civil authorities, not me.  My posture then is to forgive in order that I might be forgiven. Put another way, "do to others what you would have them do to you." Matthew 7:12.

Nor am I to allow myself to be repeatedly trespassed against. Like the rancher who changed the gate code or repairs a fence, I can put relational boundaries in place to protect me. My posture toward the person guilty of the infraction is to be grounded in love, but with firm limits regarding the level of access I grant if they have shown a pattern of  unwelcome behavior.

No. It's not easy. But to receive grace and mercy I must be willing to extend it. It is essential to create and restore healthy relationships.

And just maybe...it will get garner an invitation to go back to fish private waters.