What dogs teach us about God – Part 4 (and final)

Last updated on: May 19, 2017 at 8:30 am by Gerald McDermott

What dogs teach us about God – Part 4 (and final) 2017-05-19T08:30:02-04:00 Gerald McDermott

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Yesterday I wrote about dogs and forgiveness.

If we want to be happy, we need this lesson from dogs. In his book Stay, Dave Burchett cites University of Michigan psychologist Christopher Peterson, who finds that of all the virtues “[f]orgiveness is the behavior most strongly linked to happiness.” This should not surprise us. Jesus said that if we choose not to forgive others, God will not forgive us (Mt 6:15). Paul commands us to forgive “one another as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:32). If we do not forgive, then we are not reconciled with God, and our deepest connection with Love itself has been broken. With that connection severed, it is no wonder that we will have trouble finding the peace and joy necessary for true happiness. Dogs can help us forgive by showing how they forgive us. Or, to put it another way, by being types of forgiveness to us.

Dogs don’t automatically demonstrate all these virtues, however. Like us, they need training. Elizabeth Haysom is a dog-trainer at a prison in Virginia. Incarcerated with a 90-year sentence, she is a dynamic Christian who inspires all who know her. Haysom says she sees many Kingdom principles illustrated by the dogs with whom she works. One set of principles has to do with the way they learn obedience.

When training a dog, we build the behavior slowly step by step. We don’t expect a dog to magically understand what “stay” means. We build a habit of a good stay. And a good stay is one that holds through distractions (people, food, toys, other animals), distance (being out of sight), and duration (several minutes). Even the stay that holds through different trainers who have different meanings for the word.

Haysom observes that we need to train in the virtues over months and years, and that it often must proceed step by step. Maturity never comes overnight. She observes that Christians will make mistakes and fail, just like dogs. But just as trainers don’t let a dog quit, so too we should not let our failures excuse us from training in godly habits and attitudes.

Elizabeth has found that any dog can be trained, even those wounded by cruel masters. But they must be trained with love and a sense of partnership. Rather than using a choke collar and punishment, she teaches her dogs—many of whom came from abusive situations–rules and obedience with praise, massage, and food. But dog breeds are different, and different breeds have different skills and gifts. So while all dogs get tired and need rest, for example, they get that rest in different ways. One dog likes to take a break by chewing, another by chasing a ball, still another with a nap. Others are comforted by getting a good sniff of something nasty, or by putting their head in someone’s lap. A good trainer watches his dog when he rests to see what he prefers. He won’t condemn the dog for not wanting to nap if he gets his rest by chewing.

So too, she observes, in the Body we all have different gifts and inclinations. We should not condemn our brothers or sisters if they don’t like what we like, or don’t prefer our kind of spirituality. Differences in dog breeds and even among members of the same breed can help remind us to be forgiving and accepting of differences among members in the Church. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. . . . If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body” (1 Cor 12:4, 15). Just as good dog trainers recognize God-given diversity among dogs, we should recognize that God has purposely made his people different. Rather than resent that fact when differences make us uncomfortable, we should celebrate it.

Elizabeth says the most important cue she teaches a dog is the recall. “It can save the dog’s life.” By this she means the skill of coming when called, no matter what else is happening or what it costs. Just like people, dogs don’t like to leave what they are doing. Whatever they are enjoying at the moment seems more important or fun than coming to the trainer. So Elizabeth uses rewards—the best food treats, the dog’s favorite toy, romping fun, or even the chance to get back to what he was previously enjoying—to teach the dog that coming to a command is always the best thing to be done.

This should sound familiar. Jesus said his sheep know his voice (Jn 10:3-5). They come to him when he calls, which means they obey, even when wandering in disobedience might seem more enjoyable. But the obedience is all-important. It proves their love, and is rewarded by both the Father and the Son. “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (Jn 14:21 ESV).

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 15, 2017

What dogs teach us about God - Part 3

Next Post

May 19, 2017 Protestants and Natural Law

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2023 November 2022 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz