Many of you would know that James and I have recently added a fur baby to our family. She is a six month old Golden Retriever named Holly. We’ve had her since she was eight weeks old and she is adorable… most of the time!
As all puppies do, Holly loves to chew things. She has a bucket full of chew toys that you would think would keep her satisfied.
Unfortunately not.
The other day I found her happily chewing on my prescription sunglasses. As I approached her, she very sheepishly dropped the mangled frames onto the floor where the lenses also lay in several pieces. She knew she had done something really bad because normally when she has got something she’s not supposed to have, she makes a game and runs away with it forcing you to chase her to retrieve it. But not this time. This time she just looked at me with those brown puppy dog eyes as if to say “sorry mum”. As I bent down to pick up the pieces, it dawned on me that I wasn’t mad at her… but I was disappointed that she had demolished my glasses!
My love for Holly and my understanding that she is just a puppy, doing what puppies do, overlooked the fact that she had just eaten a $100 pair of prescription sunglasses… Although, I was upset, and fortunately for her I had kept a previous pair that I am able to wear while I wait to get new ones.
Holly has lots and lots of toys, but she still ate my glasses. Why? Because I left them within her reach, and the temptation obviously proved too hard to resist.
We must protect what is ours. I was careless about where I left my sunglasses. I actually don’t even remember where I left them but they were obviously not put away properly. This is the same in life for us. We need to defend ourselves and our relationships from temptation. We must always be on our guard against becoming complacent. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) As I found out the hard way with my sunglasses, it only takes a minute to be careless and have something of value completely destroyed.
If it’s not yours – leave it alone! “You must not covet your neighbour’s house. You must not covet your neighbour’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.” (Exodus 20:17) Now of course Holly is a puppy and does not understand this but in real life, this is one of God’s original commandments and should not be taken lightly. Being on the wrong side of an adulterous affair is never a good place to be. And, often the people who have done the ‘coveting’ soon find out that the grass wasn’t that green on the other side after all.
And finally, this made me think about how God might feel when we do something wrong. Does He get mad? Or is He just disappointed in us? And, how should we respond when someone else does something to us? Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” (Matthew 18:21-22) Jesus himself set the example for us. I believe that when Jesus died on the cross, He took away the wrath and anger of God that we deserved, but I do think we can still disappoint God with our choices. He is our Father and just wants the best for us. Forgiveness is not a choice; it is a command. “But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15)
It was easy for me to forgive Holly because she’s cute and I love her. But what about the people in our lives who are not so cute and lovable… There is no difference. We are still commanded to forgive. But that doesn’t mean letting your guard down. You and your relationships still need to be protected against toxicity… You still need to make wise choices… and don’t eat other people’s sunglasses!
