Or cat…….. sorry…….. I’m a dog kind of guy.
If you don’t live with an animal, this post may go right past you.
I was sitting in front of the fire one morning, petting my dog……a Labrador…….. arguably the best breed on the planet. I realized that in addition to feeding and sheltering him, I shower him with affection. I never punish him or yell at him. The fact that he is extremely well behaved helps. Then I realized that he treats me exactly the same way. Our relationship is a two way sharing of love. I take care of him……because I love him. He does what I ask of him ……..because he loves me. There is no other “currency” involved in our relationship.
OK……maybe the occasional doggie treat?
This is the relationship that God expects between all human beings. It is the relationship that God expects between us…….and him. Needless to say, we fall short…….on both counts. No surprise there, we fail to meet God’s expectations…….every day.
I try to imagine a world that operates on that basis……a world where every act, every decision is based on love for the other guy…….in short, a world that operates as God originally intended. The first thing that comes to mind is all of the changes that everybody else will need to make. The next thought is “that will never happen!”
Then I recall a rule that I always tried to impress on my sons:
“When trying to solve a problem…… focus on the part of the problem that you can change.”
In this case, that would be ME learning to treat those around me with love…….all day…… every day.
It just happens that I watched the movie “Mr. Rogers” the night before. And I realize that Mr. Rogers came close.
We all have role models. But I bet that very few of us would choose Mr. Rogers………. Dirty Harry maybe…….Arnold maybe……. but not, Mr. Rogers.
And in that, we have missed the boat as a culture, and as a society.
If I could build my ideal man, it would be a man with the physical capabilities of the Terminator but with the sensibilities of Mr. Rogers……..a guy a whole lot like Jesus. So, going back to my rule, I cannot change to develop the physical capabilities of the Terminator………. but I can nurture the sensibilities of Mr. Rogers.
I once read this somewhere:
“I hope to someday grow into the kind of man that my dog thinks I am.”
So, if I want to make things better in this broken society, I will need to base every interaction I have on loving the other guy. Of course I will fail……..but maybe I can get closer to it tomorrow than I was yesterday.
I need to treat my fellow man…………….as well as I treat my dog.
And that………is the very heart of Christianity.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
Paul, NIV
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Jesus, NIV