22 Jan Lessons on God from Man’s Best Friend
Dogs have been stealing the hearts of humans for centuries, and have come to be known as “man’s best friend.”
- “Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot little puppies.” Anonymous
- “Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear.” – Dave Barry
- No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.” Anonymous
- “Heaven goes by grace. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” – Mark Twain
- I aspire to be the man my dog thinks I am. Anonymous
I have been struck over the years at the lessons we can learn about God from our relationship with dogs. I have written about one such lesson before, the Sit-Stay Command, here.
Now I want to explore the lesson of God as our pack leader.
God is our pack leader
Matthew 22:38-39 says: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.”
God demands to be #1 in our lives. He demands to be our supreme authority. Life goes better when He is. That is how we are created. Life doesn’t work otherwise. And He promises that when we accept Him as the Lord of our lives, our lives will be marked with love, joy and peace (Galatians 5:22-23).
The same principle is true between dogs and humans.
Caesar Milan is an insightful and gifted individual who helps humans understand how they can have better relationships with their dogs.
In his books and television programs, he makes the point that dogs are pack animals, and one dog will naturally try to become leader of the pack.
But when dogs live in close relationship with humans, the human is viewed by the dog as part of the pack, and the human must be the pack leader, or predictable problems will arise.
Problems with Dogs
A dog may become aggressive. If the human does not assume the role of the pack leader, a naturally domineering dog may assume the role of the pack leader and begin to dominate the human (and other dogs, if there are any) with controlling behavior, aggression, disobedience, etc.
The dog psychology is, “Well, if you’re not going to be in control, I’ll be in control.”
A dog may become fearful. On the other hand, a naturally submissive dog may become fearful and anxious. They may be very shy, retiring, and afraid of everything.
The psychology of that dog is, “Oh, no. No one is in control. Help.”
The solution. Caesar’s strategy is to earn the dog’s confidence as the pack leader. At the moment a dog accepts the human as the pack leader, a switch flips in the dog’s mind and it becomes “calm and submissive” (Caesar’s terms). It’s in the DNA of dogs to do so.
It can be dramatic to see the difference in the dogs when the switch flips, and often very heartwarming to see their rapid mental and emotional transformation.
Problems with Humans
Now, we are not God’s dogs. We are not pets. We are his children, created in His image. But God created humans and He also created dogs… and because of His consistent wisdom, there are things we can learn about God from observing our pets.
While God is the perfect pack leader, most of us are not perfect pack followers. We tend to be either domineering or submissive about authority.
When we do not accept God as our pack leader, the naturally domineering human can become angry, resentful, and rebellious.
When we do not accept God as our pack leader, the naturally submissive human can become worried, anxious, and afraid of everything.
Or some, like me, are ambidextrous. We can be either resentful or fearful, depending on the circumstances.
How many times I have aggressively growled and snarled and snapped at God when things were not going my way. Other times I have fearfully cowered, whimpered, and trembled.
But God doesn’t give up. As our perfect leader, He constantly works to bring us to greater levels of trust and obedience.
Our task is to accept His leadership, becoming calm and submissive. Unlike our pets, we can “reason this out”. We can understand what God is doing, what we should do, and the consequences of not doing so.
Yet, we often don’t… mindlessly persisting in self-defeating behavior, and failing to experience the benefits of trust and obedience to God.
When I’m watching Caesar’s shows, I often think, if the dog would just give it up, if it would just trust Caesar, everything would be all right.
And I often think the angels in heaven must look down on us and say, “Give it up! Trust God. If you do, everything will be all right.”
When we accept God as our pack leader… when we accept Him as the Lord of our lives… life smoothes out. Not the circumstances, necessarily, but the battle. Outside there might still be turmoil, but inside there is peace with God.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
So we must trust God and rest in His power and His benevolent intentions toward us.
Conclusion
Humans are social animals. We are created by God so that we are only truly fulfilled as we develop strong relationships with, and live in harmony with, others.
If we accept God as the supreme authority in our lives, it gives us the capacity to live calm, submissive lives, trusting Him to protect and provide for us.
If we reject God’s role in our lives, we will tend to become aggressive because we don’t trust God to take care of us… or we become fearful and anxious.
When we trust God’s power and goodness, it gives us the ability rest in His will, as well as to develop rich and satisfying relationships with Him and others.
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