A Dog life?
I live with three inside dogs, two inside cats, four outside cats, one goat, two chickens, one horse a
pony; and my lovely wife. That’s my family. Yes our kids have grown up and have there own families.
With all this as background I call to your attention: “Cat and dog Theology.” It’s based on an old joke about the fundamental differences between cats and dogs that goes a little something like this:
A dog thinks, “you pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me. You must be God.” A cat thinks, “you pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me. I must be God.”
Most Christians have at least some cat--like tendencies when it comes to living out their faith, exhibited by an “it’s all about me” attitude, and the study seeks to expose those leanings.
For example, have someone read the first chapter of Genesis to you aloud and assess your attitude. If you’re like many people, you might get a little board. But have you ever considered why? The Theology authors suggest it’s likely because we’re not in it. People don’t enter the picture until chapter two, and perhaps our interest isn’t fully piqued until sin comes into play in chapter three.
The author assert that many Christians live as if we are the “main characters” of the Bible, and I have to agree. I’m sad to admit that I’ve often been one them.
Much of our prayer life is devoted to seeking blessings, not the giver of blessings. A dog’s motivation is to walk toward heaven; a cats is to escape hell. While a cat may set aside time each week or even each day for worship, to a dog, worship is life. Both are Christians, but they’re living out two very different mindsets.
The entire Bible is really about God’s glory, and a dog Christian’s focus is to reflect that glory doing whatever it takes. Maybe that means praising God through suffering or maybe it means serving as a missionary in a Third World country. Yet, a cat he or she is interested in living it out comfortably.
A dog readily surrenders all to God’s will, while a cat is more reluctant, depending on what that will mean for him.
I wonder if my self-focus from God’s perspective looks a lot like a our cat who sleeps 20 hours a day. metaphorically speaking, do I pretend not to hear the Lord when He’s telling me to get down from the kitchen counter? Do I pay the most attention to God when I’m in crisis, like the cats seeks us out when their out of food?
If only I despised my cat like tendencies as a Christian as much as I despise the cat who wakes me in the middle of the night by jumbling on my face.. Then I would probably have enough grace to stop complaining about my whiskered one.
Paul Leavens - Minister - Christian Church in Lindsay