Monday's Message

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, ‘Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!'”

But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”

No, I didn’t misspell or misuse the word – Read on, I think you’ll understand.

Being a pet owner and having had both cats and dogs, I can totally relate to the difference between the two beyond just the obvious.  Their demeanor is totally becoming and justified by the preconceived notion that we have about each:  Dogs are engaged, friendly lovers where as cats are aloof, I’ll think about loving you sorts.  So, today, I heard a comparison of the two and it totally resonated with me and I wanted to share it with you here.

Pet owners go out of their way to care for their pets, to feed them, give them water, play with them, and to provide love to them.  Pets, whether cats or dogs, become our children and we love them as such.

It’s their respective views of the world that got me thinking –

The Dog’s View:

You’re god and I love you for all that you do for me.

The Cat’s View:

I’m god and thanks for being my servant.

It’s another of those strange points of view that we often carry with us through the day, becoming the underlying context in which we treat others and look at life.  Do we look at life and are we thankful for it and all that it provides or do we look at life as one of  I’m here and you owe me.  It’s taken me a while; but, I’d like to think that I’m of the former – grateful for that which is given, bestowed, or entrusted.

As you go through the week, ask yourself and be aware of those around you and ask the question “am I a cat or a dog”. You be the judge of which one you want to be but, I can tell you I’ll be barking up a new tree based on this new found analogy.

God bless and have a great week.