I learned another nice nugget of wisdom. This time from a very prominent religious figure in my life: my dog. Yes, my dog.
I cooked up some dog treats for him in the oven. I do that from time to time--liver treats, cow tongue, bison heart, chicken hearts. Oh my gosh he LOVES heart. I mix up a little flour, some egg yolk, some meat parts that people don't typically eat (I stay away from liver and kidney now, by the way. What do those organs do? Eliminate waste products. Should our pets be eating organs designed to store biological waste?).
But I digress. My point is, these treats spoil. These aren't like milk bones or dry dog food--if you leave dry dog food out, who cares? It doesn't spoil. But these treats, they spoil. Guess what: my dog doesn't know that. He thinks I should leave the whole baking pan out on the floor for him, so he can nibble at it as he pleases. Treats that spoil--out on the floor. And never mind the weight control.
So...my little guy begs. Oh yes, he begs. He yelps, he whimpers...he LOVES those treats! Gimme treat! Gimme another treat! And another! I give it to him. They just got out of the oven; that's when they're at their best. He should enjoy them now while he can, while they're still warm and chewy. I'll give him some command, like "sit". "Come". "Dance". And give him a treat. A dog trainer will tell you, you're never supposed to just give him a treat. He needs to earn it.
The silly guy. He begged and begged for more treats, until he was full; and I gave it to him. But then--and here's the kicker--he KEPT BEGGING. Why is he still begging for more treats if he's full? Soon I stepped out the back door and found out: he was taking them to the backyard and burying them. LOL! Bear in mind: these are sticky treats, and they spoil. They're not exactly any good after 24 hours in the sun buried in dirt. But he didn't know that. He wanted extra treats, to stash away for later.
So what's this all got to do with our walk in Christ? Easy: we are all just as guilty as my dog. And probably just as hilarious. Jesus told us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." But, we don't want to stop there. We want our daily bread, AND more. Instead, God, how about you just give us all our bread up front, so we know we are taken care of for good? Why not just give us our whole retirement savings up front, and then we can sock it away in the bank and earn interest?
My little pooch has a lesson for all of us, and that is WHY we should pray for our daily bread. You see, bread spoils. Remember, when the Israelites were out in the desert and God gave them manna, they secretly tried to collect a little extra manna, too. And it spoiled. My dog doesn't understand. He understands that I love him. But he doesn't understand that I ALREADY GAVE him the entire pan of treats. It's all his--I don't want it. But it is sitting in the refrigerator. No one is going to take it from him. BUT--I'm not going to give it all to him at once. I'm going to dole it out. He's going to have his fill; he's definitely not going to starve. Indeed, if I just gave it all to him he would probably gain weight. In the meantime, though, the treats go in the refrigerator. Not give it all to him, where he will bury it in the backyard and ruin it. I am the human; he is the dog. There are things I know that he doesn't. Do you know what a refrigerator is, buddy? Or why we have them? Germs? Mold? Do you know what that is? I do. And you don't want it.
God has a mansion for you in Heaven. He's got treasure for you, where moths and rust don't destroy--that is ALREADY YOURS. You're going to be taken care of. But He's going to dole it out to you one day at a time, and for the same reason. There are things God knows about this life and the next that you don't. It is better to leave it in His hands, safe and sound, than in yours. Do you ever envy the billionaires, millionaires, movie stars, etc. in the world? Or the guy who wins the lottery? Don't. You have all the same treasure they do--the difference is, you have a God taking care of it. THAT'S the treasure. And what they have...that's just dry dog food. You've got the good stuff. It's just, the good stuff with a catch: it spoils. And if you blow through it all, God will just make some more. Can the stars in Hollywood say that? If the lottery winner blows his $100 million, does he have a God who will give him more?
You have all the riches you need--in the capable hands of a God who knows what He is doing. And you are much more than a dog to Him--you are His child.
I cooked up some dog treats for him in the oven. I do that from time to time--liver treats, cow tongue, bison heart, chicken hearts. Oh my gosh he LOVES heart. I mix up a little flour, some egg yolk, some meat parts that people don't typically eat (I stay away from liver and kidney now, by the way. What do those organs do? Eliminate waste products. Should our pets be eating organs designed to store biological waste?).
But I digress. My point is, these treats spoil. These aren't like milk bones or dry dog food--if you leave dry dog food out, who cares? It doesn't spoil. But these treats, they spoil. Guess what: my dog doesn't know that. He thinks I should leave the whole baking pan out on the floor for him, so he can nibble at it as he pleases. Treats that spoil--out on the floor. And never mind the weight control.
So...my little guy begs. Oh yes, he begs. He yelps, he whimpers...he LOVES those treats! Gimme treat! Gimme another treat! And another! I give it to him. They just got out of the oven; that's when they're at their best. He should enjoy them now while he can, while they're still warm and chewy. I'll give him some command, like "sit". "Come". "Dance". And give him a treat. A dog trainer will tell you, you're never supposed to just give him a treat. He needs to earn it.
The silly guy. He begged and begged for more treats, until he was full; and I gave it to him. But then--and here's the kicker--he KEPT BEGGING. Why is he still begging for more treats if he's full? Soon I stepped out the back door and found out: he was taking them to the backyard and burying them. LOL! Bear in mind: these are sticky treats, and they spoil. They're not exactly any good after 24 hours in the sun buried in dirt. But he didn't know that. He wanted extra treats, to stash away for later.
So what's this all got to do with our walk in Christ? Easy: we are all just as guilty as my dog. And probably just as hilarious. Jesus told us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." But, we don't want to stop there. We want our daily bread, AND more. Instead, God, how about you just give us all our bread up front, so we know we are taken care of for good? Why not just give us our whole retirement savings up front, and then we can sock it away in the bank and earn interest?
My little pooch has a lesson for all of us, and that is WHY we should pray for our daily bread. You see, bread spoils. Remember, when the Israelites were out in the desert and God gave them manna, they secretly tried to collect a little extra manna, too. And it spoiled. My dog doesn't understand. He understands that I love him. But he doesn't understand that I ALREADY GAVE him the entire pan of treats. It's all his--I don't want it. But it is sitting in the refrigerator. No one is going to take it from him. BUT--I'm not going to give it all to him at once. I'm going to dole it out. He's going to have his fill; he's definitely not going to starve. Indeed, if I just gave it all to him he would probably gain weight. In the meantime, though, the treats go in the refrigerator. Not give it all to him, where he will bury it in the backyard and ruin it. I am the human; he is the dog. There are things I know that he doesn't. Do you know what a refrigerator is, buddy? Or why we have them? Germs? Mold? Do you know what that is? I do. And you don't want it.
God has a mansion for you in Heaven. He's got treasure for you, where moths and rust don't destroy--that is ALREADY YOURS. You're going to be taken care of. But He's going to dole it out to you one day at a time, and for the same reason. There are things God knows about this life and the next that you don't. It is better to leave it in His hands, safe and sound, than in yours. Do you ever envy the billionaires, millionaires, movie stars, etc. in the world? Or the guy who wins the lottery? Don't. You have all the same treasure they do--the difference is, you have a God taking care of it. THAT'S the treasure. And what they have...that's just dry dog food. You've got the good stuff. It's just, the good stuff with a catch: it spoils. And if you blow through it all, God will just make some more. Can the stars in Hollywood say that? If the lottery winner blows his $100 million, does he have a God who will give him more?
You have all the riches you need--in the capable hands of a God who knows what He is doing. And you are much more than a dog to Him--you are His child.
