More Biblical Lessons From a Dog Named Radley

This past weekend my roommate was out-of-town, and since Radley and I were "home alone," it seemed like a great time to start teaching him some things. So, with treats in hand, I crouched down and started the arduous process of repeating, over and over again, "Radley, come. Come, Radley. Come. Come." At first, it didn't even seem to register to him, and I'm pretty sure the first time he wandered over to me (there was nothing intentional about it), he had no idea what he was doing. But he got the treat anyway, and a lot of goofy praise from me. Slowly, he realized what was going on, and now when I say, "Radley, come," he does.

Here's the interesting thing: he comes reluctantly. By now he knows the routine. He sees the treat in my hand, and he knows that it's a treat, which he loves, and he knows that the sooner he gets to me, the sooner he gets the treat. I'm crouched low, on his level, so I'll be as "un-scary" as possible, and not once have I called him to me when I didn't give him the treat. This is a good thing for him. I am calling and offering something so good, something he loves, along with lots of praise and petting, and yet he comes reluctantly, timidly, unsure of what's happening, and on his guard. Seems ridiculous, right? He should be joyfully running toward me, don't you thi. . . huh? what's that?

Excuse me just a minute. God, who claims to be my Abba, Father, and offers nothing but good things for me, who sent his Son to die for me, who longs for fellowship with me, who's never once wthheld his blessings from me, and has been faithful to keep his word even when it seemed like I wandered over to him without knowing what I was doing, is calling me to come to him. Radley, am I doing that uncertain, reluctant walk right?

A Different Kind of Wagon

There's a book in the Bible, called "Titus." Actually it's a letter. The apostle Paul had started this church on the island of Crete, and he put this young guy named Titus in charge of the ins-and-outs of getting the church established after Paul left. So, in this letter (1:7-9, if you know the lingo), Paul lists out the qualifications he wants Titus to look for in the men that Titus will appoint to lead the church(es) on Crete. One of these qualities is that the men should be "self-controlled." The old King James Version of the Bible, translates this phrase, simply as "sober."

Now, here's the interesting thing about that phrase: in the original Greek it's a word that has lots of connotations not found in any of our English translations of the word(s). It actually refers to someone who has complete control over their passions and desires, or someone who can curtail their passions, both removing those that are improper and arranging those that are necessary to the proper time and in moderation (paraphrase of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). One author said being sober-minded/self-controlled is being disciplined to the point of being able to resist doing what your natural impulse would have you do, even if that impulse isn't necessarily sinful. Now, that's an amazing statement! I mean, think about it. Getting to the point that you have disciplined yourself and your will that if your natural impulse is to do something, you resist doing it, even if your impulse isn't something that the Bible forbids.

Here are some examples: You're natural instinct is to have a beer after work? You don't have a beer after work. You're impulse is to speak? You keep quiet. This is the kind of discipline that Paul writes Titus those whom Titus picks to lead the church should have. Not because he cares about the acts themselves that they're doing or not doing, but because he wants men who are sober-minded, self-controlled, disciplined like this. This is what I want. I want to be sober like this!

A Bitter Pill?

In Romans 13:1-2, Paul writes to the Romans, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement."

Food rotted in planes, sitting on runways, ready to take off, but the government in Myanmar wouldn't give the pilots visas to get in the country.
For there is no authority except from God.

Hundreds of thousands of people will most likely starve to death because the government in Myanmar is keeping the best of the aid coming in for themselves and giving old, unhealthy food to the suffering citizens.
Those that exist have been instituted by God.

Health officials fear disease will become a big problem because the government in Myanmar isn't allowing doctors and nurses to go in and treat those in need of medical attention.
Whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed.

Here's the thing: can you handle a God like this? When you watch the news and become angry at the absolute heinous actions of the government in Myanmar, do you ever stop to think that the ruling junta has been appointed and given authority in that country by God? A God who knew that this cyclone was going to happen while they were in power and what their reaction would be?

Just something to think about.

Biblical Lessons From A Dog Named Radley

My roommate got a dog last week, a cute, five-week-old, little lab mix, whose name is now Radley. (By the way, having a roommate who gets a dog is just the best! You get all the enjoyment of having a dog, but you never have to pay vet bills, worry about boarding him, etc. It's great!) Anyway, everyone encouraged my roommate to cage-train the dog so that he'll get used to being in a cage when we're gone during the day, sleeping in a cage, and most importantly, not going to the bathroom in the place he lives!!! So, that's what we're trying to do. One of the keys to cage-training a dog is that their cage is only as big as they are, no extra room. This way, they can't mess up one end of the cage and then go lay in another. Put them in a small cage, and if they poop or pee, they gotta lay in it, thus discouraging pooping and peeing inside. Great concept, and one that I think, ultimately, will work.

Here's the thing, though, Radley's only five weeks old. Physically, biologically, he can't hold it all day/night. Actually, he can't really hold it more than about 30 minutes to an hour at a time. It's really a double whammie. Not only is his bladder and colon the size of paddle ball, he can't control either one. In and of itself, that's a challenge. Add on top of that the fact that we're expecting him to hold it for four or five hours and, uh, yeah, you've got the recipe for clean-up on aisle eight!

Now, I don't know if Radley tries to hold it. I have no idea if in that little chickpea-size brain of his there's an internal battle between the forces of wanting to hold it and the realities of developmental science (if there is, by the way, the forces for science are way ahead headed into the sixth inning!) My guess is there's not a lot of highly developed cognitive debate going on in his head. I mean, he still struggles remembering where his water bowl is. At the same time, as I've watched and thought about Radley's struggle, or lack thereof, with cage-training, I've been reminded of how this is a great example of us trying to live out the law and the Christian life apart from Christ. I mean, my roommate and I are trying to force this little guy to do something that right now, he's just not capable of doing. Whether he tries or not, he just can't hold it. Now, there might be times when he holds it, by chance we happen to get home just at the right moment before the floodgates open, but really, that's just timing, not real success. Until he gets bigger and muscles stregthen and develop, it ain't gonna happen.

And isn't that the way it is with us when we try to live the Christian life apart from Christ? We can try, and sometimes it looks like we even get it right, but really, that's just luck, timing, coincidence. The truth is, trying to live by faith and believe the Gospel is impossible for those who don't know Christ. It's like trying to tell a man with no arms and legs to climb a tree. . . or a little five week old puppy to hold it. When I see friends or acquaintances who seem to be always struggling with issues of belief, doubt, etc. I'm becoming much more comfortable asking them the hard questions to see if they really think their even believers. They might get mad, they might get offended, but really, if they're not a believer, if they haven't been adopted by God, justified through Christ, if they don't have the Holy Spirit working in their lives to produce his fruit, then all the things I can tell them about faith and believing truth don't mean a thing. It's not that I don't think people can be true believers and struggle, not at all. I'm the posterchild for that message! It just seems pointless to encourage someone to believe again and again when they don't have the capability to do that because they never really believed the first time.

The good news is there's hope for Radley! He'll grow, develop, and eventually be able to hold it. And that'll happen overnight, and we'll be sooo freakin' excited, until we realize that he's just moved on to some other thing that we've got to correct and deal with. Hmm, sounds vaguely familiar. Anyone know somebody like that?!

I Think the Wiring's a Little Faulty

The other day I was in a store, turned the corner, and met a woman coming in the opposite direction, around the same corner. I did a quick version of the Winn-Dixie Two-Step, and said, "Excuse me." Her reply was, "Sure," and she kept walking. Here's the thing: her response really hacked me off. I mean, I was ticked. She didn't even say, "Excuse me," back! She didn't try to move out of the way, she just said, "sure" and kept moving. Who did this chick think she is?!

It took a couple of days, but it finally hit me why I got so mad at her. It was because her response hurt my pride. See, I requested that she excuse me. In other words, I gave her the authority to agree with me that my actions were wrong, albeit unitentional. What I was really saying is, "You have the authority in this situation to excuse me. Will you, please?" And when she replied back to me, what she was really saying was, "You know what, you're right. You are wrong in this situation. Yes, I do excuse you." C'mon, you're smart, you know where I'm going with this, right?

Even though I said what I needed to say, it didn't really reflect what I wanted to have happen. What I wanted to happen was that I would say, "Excuse me," and she would reply, "No, excuse me." Totally absolving me of any fault in the situation and taking all the blame on herself. After all, I'm Jason Noah, I shouldn't have to be at fault for anything. (It's a real wonder there was enough room for she and I to stand on the same aisle with my ego!) But that's not what happened. Instead, she did exactly what she should have done. I asked for pardon (and in doing so admitted I needed it), and she gave it to me. Funny, you'd think I'd actually be thankful instead of mad, but then, see, you're forgetting my pride.

So she and I went our seperate ways, and I've once again been struck at the depths of my sin and ugliness. Really, for me, it's on top of those little Mount Sinai's like grocery store aisles and intersections where I learn so much.

Sobriety Test

This week in our Community Group at church, we were talking about the place of disciplines in the life of believers. We were reading in Titus -- it's a little-bitty book in the New Testament, on pages 998 and 999 -- where Paul is laying out for Titus the qualifications of those who are selected to be leaders in the church. In chapter one, verse eight and in chapter two, verses six and twelve, he uses a word that's translated in my Bible "self-controlled." The old King James version, translates that Greek word, "sober-minded."

Here's the cool thing about that word: the "sober" part comes from a Greek word that has a deep and rich meaning, part of which is to resist what your impulse would have you do. Now I just think this is an amazing concept. That to be really disciplined (remember these are qualifications for church leaders), you are the kind of person who has trained your body and your will to keep from doing what your impulse would lead you to do, and the really interesting thing is, it doesn't necessarily mean that your impulse is sinful! It's really not about the impulse at all. The point is that you resist. So, if your impulse is to cuss, you don't cuss. If your impulse is to have a beer when you come home from work, you don't have a beer when you come home from work. If your impulse is to buy something, you don't buy it. I mean, this is uber-discipline, and it's easy to see why Paul would want people like this in charge of the church.

If I can beat my body and will into submission to the point that I can resist doing what my natural inclination would be, even if that inclination isn't toward anything sinful, imagine how my fighting sin in the Christian life would change! What a thought. What a concept. I want to be sober-minded.