The Lesson of a Dog
This is Dune.
We rescued him while on home service in South Carolina, which meant he had to fly back to AK with us. During our layover on a leg of that flight, we had the gate attendant call down to baggage to check on him. She was greeted with, “Dune? He’s running around playing with all of us! What a great dog!”
On Sundays, Steven and I often take Dune, now nearly 12 years old, out for his two favorite activities in the world: riding in the car and going for a walk. We drive to Memorial Park with its numerous wide trails, filled with walkers and joggers and many, many dogs. In fact, there are so many dogs that Dune doesn’t get to meet them all, though we can tell he really wants to.
And then, every so often, there’s that one dog that Dune, the sweetest pup in the world, does not like. They look at each other and they both growl, hackles up, straining on their leashes. And we wonder… what is it that causes their instant animosity?
Maybe that’s an appropriate question for today, in a world where we dislike people for all sorts of “reasons” - religion, politics, status, economics. But if we don’t know the whole story, are these really grounds for quick judgment?
I know that I’ve made rush judgments - and they leave me feeling ashamed. Wrong attitudes lead me far from Jesus.
In reality, critical and self-righteous judgements contrast monumentally with the loving way Jesus engaged with people - and He knew every bit of them, both the good and the bad.
We see this in the story of the rich man who asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments, which he confirms he’s done.
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Mark 10:21-22 NIV
Jesus looked at him and loved him. Jesus knew that the young man cherished his earthly treasures. But instead of condemnation, Jesus’s reaction is love.
Sometimes we believe that we understand others, when the reality is we may not know anything at all. Our assumptions and inferences and judgements are often based solely on the lens we choose to look through - a lens that is not always love.
Of course, we don’t punish Dune for not liking certain dogs, but he’s teaching me a lesson that Jesus taught:
“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matt. 7:5 NIV
It’s the log in my own eye that misleads me - I find myself in a shadowy wasteland instead of gracious wide-open spaces.
Leave it to my wise old dog to point out my character flaws.
Writer Agnes Sligh Turnbull said, "Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.”
I agree.
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”
Matt. 7:1-2 NLT