Читать книгу Paws to Reflect for Dog Lovers - Kim McLean - Страница 9

When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.

—Hosea 5:6

Outward appearances can sometimes be very deceiving. As a shelter volunteer, I soon learned that the most evil-looking dogs were sometimes the biggest sweethearts. And then, there were the cocker spaniels. They had those beautiful brown eyes. Visions of Lady and the Tramp came to mind as I would reach to pet them.

With one unanticipated sharp growl, I would get bitten. I was not prepared to be bitten by an animal that was cute. This was a breed that had been animated in Disney movies, for goodness’ sake! This misperception happened more than once. The adorable toy breeds would growl and snap with no provocation, while the pit bulls and Dobermans would roll around on the floor with me in play. This is by no means a criticism of any breed, just an observation that outward appearances and public opinion can be wrong.

In ancient times, some Israelites spoke highly of God, while worshiping pagan gods on the side. The Israelites were spiritually hedging their bets, so to speak. Well, it didn’t work with God. And hedging bets didn’t work with me either at the animal shelter. I stopped trusting those sweet, sad eyes until I knew for sure that the animal in front of me was trustworthy. And I was delighted to find cocker spaniels who were.

If we put our faith in gods that can’t be trusted, we can get bitten. But we forget that and often put our faith in careers, money, or material possessions because they look at us with their beautiful brown eyes. Then, when we are least expecting it, they turn and bite us, leaving us wounded and with destroyed spirits. But we have God who loves us always and who knows our hearts.—d.o.