The Tail of Two Dogs

Everything I need to know about Thanksgiving I learned from my dogs. Our family owns two and as any dog owner knows, each one has its own personality. In observing the differences between these two dogs, I have learned how to (try to) maintain an attitude of gratitude. Unfortunately, I am also convicted of my own ingratitude by watching them too.

Our first dog, who has been with us for eight years now, is a Jack Russell Terrier named Skippy. We bought him as a puppy from a pet store in Iowa where we lived at the time. I remember the first time I picked him up and his whole body fit in the palm of my hand. He became a metaphorical handful as he went through his puppy stage (which for a Jack Russell lasts about three years). He has calmed down quiet a bit in his old age but still dominates the lives of all who are around him. He lives in the house and has slept in a bed with a human almost ever night of his life. He always gets the final bite of whatever I am eating, gets to ride in the car, and is pretty much spoiled in every way.

Our second dog has been with us for three years. Luna is a Chocolate Lab that we saved off the streets in Mexico. She was a walking skeleton, too young to be away from her mother when we found her. She was blind in one eye and we did not think she would live through the week. We took her home and she ate until she looked like a water balloon that was about to explode. Thankfully she recovered and has grown into a beautiful, healthy dog that brings joy to our family. One problem that has remained though is that she has never been able to control her bladder. We could never afford to have that fixed so she has to live in the back yard and only gets to come in the house for cold nights. Even then she has to sleep in the laundry room.

I often feel bad when Luna sits outside the sliding glass door and watches Skippy get to snuggle up on the couch with us. This is where the difference in attitudes shows itself. Skippy is so used to living inside and getting to sit in my chair with me (when I bought my chair, I shopped until I found one wide enough for him to join me) that he becomes demanding. When he wants to lay down, he follows me a round and whines until I sit and pull out the blanket for him. If I sit and read, he gets under my book to nose it out of the way so I can pet him. And petting him with one hand isn’t enough; he will nose my other hand until I rub both his ears and belly. Luna just sits and watches us. If we even look at her she jumps to her feet and wags her tail. If we come out and pet her she is in heaven. How come the one who gets pet all the time demands more and never seems satisfied but the one who rarely gets attention, relishes the little bit she receives and is happy?

The difference really manifests when it comes to food. As I said, Skippy almost always gets the last bite of my food. He gets to “pre-clean” dishes. But when we have food he acts like he has never eaten in his life. When we hand him something, he will take our fingers off if we are not careful. But when we give food to Luna, she will actually take it gently, lay it down, and rub her head gently on our hand. She would rather have our affection than our food. Skippy wants it all and if he has to choose, I think he would take the food over us. Luna won’t even eat the gift until we have gone inside and there is no more chance for attention.

All of this convicts me because many times I am like Skippy. I have it so good but always want more. I become demanding. I whine when I don’t get my way. I need to be more like Luna. I need to be more thankful for every single blessing I have in my life. I also need to learn to be more interested in the one who gives my a gift than in the gift itself…

I Deserve It???

I have a confession to make: I think I am better than a lot of people. There it is. It sounds so ugly when it is out in the open like that. I would never actually say it and when I think about it, I know it is not true. As a matter of fact, I can’t stand people who think they are better than other people (do I think I am better than people who think they are better than other people???). Ironically, if you told me I thought I was better than someone else, I would argue with you to no end denying it. The problem is that I am guilty of having this nasty, ugly attitude deep in my heart.

Now, it does not manifest in me the same way it does in some people. In me, it manifests through my constant whining, complaining, and feeling sorry for myself. Things are hard right now in my life a from time to time I find myself sinking down into the pit of self pity. “why does life have to be so hard?” Why me, Lord?” When will things change?” etc…

A few days ago, the Lord really convicted me about this. I was reading Matthew 20:1-16. In that passage Jesus tells a story about a guy who goes out and hires some men to do some work for him. They agree on a price and the men go to work. Throughout the day, the owner hires more men. He even hired some who only worked 1 hour. At the end of the day, the owner payed everyone the same amount whether they worked 1 hour or 8. Those who worked the longest were upset because they thought they deserved more (most of us would agree). The owner says, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my money or are you jealous because I am generous?” As I read that I realized that, when I start whining, I am just like the guys who worked the whole day. I am telling God that I deserve better. I worked harder, I sacrificed more, I should get more… What kind of attitude is that?

Here is the rub; when I complain, I am really saying I deserve good things in my life more than those who have them. In effect, I am saying I am better than they are. I can complain about having too much work when I have at least 4 good friends who have lost their jobs in the last month. I am upset about problems with my son but a good friends of mine lost his son a year ago. I have an incredible wife but have a friend who lost his wife and 4 more friends whose husbands have left them to raise children alone in the past year. All of these people would love to have my problems. Funny how I never stop to wonder if they deserve my blessings more than I do… No, I always look at what other have and I don’t instead of being thankful for what I DO have. Lord, help me!

Here is the truth. I don’t want what I deserve. I know the terrible things I have done that I keep buried deep in my past. I know the people I have hurt. I know the ugliness that still dwells in my heart. what I deserve is absolutely nothing. Actually, what I deserve is to pay for the terrible tings I have done. I never seem to want that part of what I deserve…Thank God, Jesus took the punishment I deserved!

He didn’t just take the punishment I deserved, He blessed me with things I don’t deserve. Every blessing I have is just that, a blessing from GOD. Not payment for being good sometimes. The gifts He has given me are completely unearned. I pray I will get my attitude turned around to be thankful for what I have instead of always comparing myself to others and demanding more.

Angry at the Wrong People

A couple nights ago I was working at the hotel and I met a lady from Florida. She was out in the courtyard smoking a cigarette and had had a little too much to drink. She began asking me about Savannah and we were having a nice conversation until I mentioned that I was a pastor when I wasn’t securing hotels in the middle of the night. She began apologizing and put out her cigarette. Our conversation came to a screeching halt. The more I thought about it, the more it grieved my spirit that mentioning being a Jesus follower made her so uncomfortable. Why is it like this? Why are so many people who do not follow Jesus so uncomfortable with those of us who do (and we around them)?

I think the answer is found in Matthew 23. In this chapter we see the only time that Jesus got angry and “judgmental” with people. And who are the people He yelled at? The religious leaders of His day! The only people Jesus got upset with were people who claimed to follow God but didn’t show love for other people. Specifically, they did not show love for “sinners.” Jesus loved “sinners” and yelled at religious hypocrites. The church (myself included) seems to coddle hypocrites and yell at “sinners.” Why do we act the opposite of our Lord? Do we think we know better than He does? We need to turn this thing around. Love the “sinners” and those outside our fellowship and confront the judgmental amongst ourselves.

Prostitutes and sinners were comfortable hanging out with Jesus. They loved being around Him. Why do they hate being around us? Why am I so uncomfortable around people who smoke, drink, and curse? Could it simply be that I don’t want to be like Jesus badly enough to be uncomfortable? Are we so insecure in our beliefs that we fear being around “sinners” will ruin us?

I am again struck by how far we, who call ourselves followers of Jesus, have strayed from following Jesus. I know that is a very generalized, blanket statement but before you close this window, realize I am including myself in this group and admitting that many times I do the same thing. I am not pointing a finger at all of you from my perch of self righteousness. I am asking what is wrong with me and many of “us”?

I am challenging myself to spend more time with those who are not already following Jesus. I am not there yet. I admit I am uncomfortable. I think it is a good sign though that I am now more uncomfortable when someone feels uncomfortable around me. At least I am recognizing the problem. That’s the first step to recovery, right?

Politics, Politics, Politics…

I am writing this blog today to hold myself accountable to any of you who happen to stumble across it. You see, I am pretty passionate about my politics. I was a very adamant McCain supporter. I know that is not a very popular thing to say right now but it is true. Unfortunately, every time I say I did not support Barack Obama, I feel I have to qualify it by saying that it had nothing to do with race or with hating gay people. I will include a footnote at the end of this blog explaining why I supported McCain if you are interested. I don’t want to add it here since that would bore a lot of readers and we would never get to the point of this blog.

Speaking of the point, here it is, I want everyone to hold me accountable to actually obeying the Bible when it comes to my politics. I know that is radical but it is harder than it seems. You see the Bible tells me to submit myself to the governing authorities and to pray for (not against) them (Rom 13:1-3; 1 Tim 2:2). I pledge that I will pray for MY president. I may disagree with some of his policies but I will pray for him and respect him and the office he now holds. I will not act like so many have toward president Bush or as so many Christians (myself included) did toward president Clinton. We can disagree on issues without disrespecting and speaking negative about the man. If any of you catch me speaking ill of MY president, please call me on it. This is my duty before God.

I was humbled a few years back when I was an Arabic translator in the Army. I was working with Kurdish refugees from northern Iraq. Saddam was still in power and had driven them from their homes. I was in a Bible study with some Kurdish Christians. They talked about the horrible atrocities Saddam had done to their people (much worse than we ever heard in the news). Then they talked about praying for Saddam because the Bible told them to pray for those in authority over them. With tears in their eyes they prayed for a man who had ordered the murder of their family members. They prayed that God would bless him and change him… I was convicted because I had not even once prayed for president Clinton up to that point in time.

How can I disregard the teaching of the Bible because I disagree with a man about tax policy? If I think abortion is murder, shouldn’t I support women going through unwanted pregnancies? If I believe homosexual behavior is a sin, shouldn’t I befriend and love those in that lifestyle to show them the love of Jesus? When did Christianity become about gaining political power and shouting venomous slander at those with whom we disagree? Is this how Jesus approached his authorities? My goal is to be like Jesus who paid His taxes after clearly explaining why He disagreed with the policy (Mt. 17:24-27).

WHY I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN

1. The Man- McCain has always been my favorite senator. He stands for what he thinks is right even if it irritates his own party and costs him votes. I have only seen three senators who do this; McCain, Liberman, and Biden. I want a leader who leads with conviction.

2. Financial Policy- Democratic financial policy makes no sense to me. If corporations are evil, where are the jobs supposed to come from? If rich people are evil, who will invest in businesses and create jobs? Government does not create jobs, corporations do. If you tax the owner of my hotel, he will cut jobs. I would much rather have the opportunity to earn a living than get a $1,000 government hand out taken from my boss.

3. Iraq- We can’t just abandon those people. I am sick of arguing about whether we should have gone to war, the fact is we did. I beleive “you break it, you bought it.” No matter why we went in, we broke it. We must fix it. We cannot abandon millions of people and leave them unprotected.

Living death

As I read through Acts chapters 20 & 21 I am struck by the determination of Paul. Over a period of a couple months or more Paul is trying to get to Jerusalem. Every step of the way he is warned that he will be put in chains and suffer when he gets there. But Paul responds repeatedly that he is not only willing to suffer but to die for the Lord.

What strikes me is that Paul is not making one grand gesture. It is one thing to stand up in the moment and sacrifice your life. It is another to get up day after day and move toward certain pain, suffering, and death. I think It is much easier to die for Jesus than it is to live for Him. If we are really ready to die for Him, why is it so hard to get up day after day and endure the hardships of life?

I admit that many times I get worn down and don’t want to go on. Things get hard and I start whining and complaining. I start pouting and asking why God doesn’t love me enough to make the world exactly the way I want it to be. I pray that someday I can develope the attitude of Paul who could get up day after day and say, “not only will I face the hardship of today, I will do tomorrow and the next day. If nothing ever changes, I will go on serving Jesus until the day I die.” Another way to say it would be that I will give up my life every single day until I give up my life: Or as Jesus said, “Take up your cross daily and follow Me…”