Our Good Dogs
Sarahdoodles is a black lab in her 14th year. Magnus is an 8 year old rat terrier. Sarahdoodles is passive aggressive. Magnus is a feral dog, but he gets away with it because he is cute!. Both are smart and run their "cons" all day long. Sarahdoodles is cautious, obedient and somewhat timid. Magnus will open drawers, doors and cages to get what he wants. Sarahdoodles would never bite a person or another dog unless attacked. Magnus will attack your feet if you accidentally step on him, your hand if you try to take back trash he has procured at midnight from the locked trash can. Both are, however, treat motivated, Sarahdoodles all the time and Magnus when he wants to be.
Our Dogs' Upbringing
No matter what our dogs do or don't do, the credit or the blame belongs to us humans. When they were puppies we gave them treats, for everything actually. Going outside to potty, responding to our commands, learning tricks and other good behaviors got rewards, usually food as treats. No wonder they are con artists! More treats!
My Upbringing
I don't know why I should be surprised when Sarahdoodles finds the upstairs door open and she comes to the downstairs door near my office for a treat. After all, going outside is grounds for a treat, right? The same with Magnus when at midnight he opens my office door, pulls the dog-proof trash can to the living room and opens it for any crumbs that he may find on the trash inside. They are they way they are trained to be. So are we by the way!
Many of us were raised with some combination of love, discipline, intimidation and fear from our parents. We were either good boys and girls or we were bad, depending on how we behaved. This became our identity. So, naturally, we often use our learned behavior traits with our dogs, our family members, our peers and others in our circle of influence.
Our Worldview is Shaped by Our Life Experiences
From our childhood, to our teenage years, to adulthood, we bring forward learning from life events, both good and bad. We use or mind and will to seek and get what we want, mostly guided by these life experiences. David Brooks, New York Times columnist and book author says it this way: "Our worldview is not of the world as it is, but as we are in it." The question is, should we look beyond our personal worldview?
From our life experiences and circumstances, our perceived identity, our opinions and our behaviors we mold the world we live in. Most of us don't change our core beliefs and behaviors unless some catastrophic event motivates us to change. Whether we admit it or not, many of us operate by the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" rule. We attack rather than change! We do what we've learned to do because it usually works, that is, until it doesn't!
We sometimes masquerade as nice, even religious, all the while scheming to get ahead. We appear as a team player until others block what we want the team to do. We judge others by their behaviors and expect others to judge us by our good intentions. We speak half-truths professing not to lie, or we just lie. Deep inside we hate other people that are different from who we believe we are. We love others only based on what we get from them! We believe that the end can be justified by the means, however horrible the means may be. Forgive me, but we all have a little of these types of behavior hidden somewhere in our hearts, some of us more than others!
Are We All Supposed to be the Same?
Of course not! Our dogs are all different and so are we. We are all individuals, each with the potential to add something to the world. The Bible, in fact, documents God's plan for each of us to contribute to the well-being of others. But, instead of building others up, we often seek their destruction in defense of our fragile egos, whether justified or not. We plot against them, we criticize them, condemn them or complain about them using both our actions and our words. For some, we even have hatred in our hearts for them just because they don't agree with us.
What is Our Place in the World?
Our dogs' behaviors can be modified through love and training, but their breed and upbringing will always weigh heavily on their behavior and what they are. For us humans, thousands of books, pundits, business, religious and government leaders purport to show us the way. The Truth is, when we've tried it all, there is only one Way. That is God's Way, as directed by the Holy Spirit from Scripture in the Holy Bible. Sure, short-term success can come from nefarious or worldly ways. We often forget, however, that the life we are living now is but a microcosm of time that establishes our place for eternity. Either God's Way or the devil's way will get us to eternity! All or none! It's our choice, right now!
Jesus was sent as our example of the way, the truth and the life God expects of us here on earth. We will be judged by His Way! Breaking news: God can't be conned!
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