Differences

You may have noticed this, but it’s cold outside.  It was cold last week.  It’s cold this week.  We got a couple of days break from it, which was nice, but it went below zero sometime Sunday night and not get back above zero until Saturday.  That’s cold!

I’ve seen a lot written and heard a lot said about the need to take precautions if you have to be out in the cold weather.  That’s good.  We should always take precautions like that.  I’ve also seen a lot written and heard a lot said about the need to take proper care of animals in weather like this.  That’s good, too.  But I’ve also seen a lot written and heard a lot said that if you leave your pet out in the cold, you’re--well, let’s just say that the names that have been used are not ones I feel comfortable using in my blog, and the things it was suggested to be done to people like that are also not things I feel comfortable discussing in my blog.

Again, I’m all for taking proper care of animals.  I love dogs, cats, and all kinds of animals.  But not all animals are created equal, and not all animals are equal averse to the cold.  I remember, growing up on the farm, we had this big dog we called Dawg.  We don’t know what breed he was--my dad used to speculate that he might even be part wolf.  He wandered onto the place one day, decided he liked it, and stayed.  He adopted us before we adopted him, really, but we came to really love him.

The thing about Dawg was that he absolutely loved the cold weather.  The colder the better.  Ten below?  No problem.  Twenty below?  We’d go out to do chores, and he’d be bouncing around like this was the best day ever.  He couldn’t understand why we didn’t want to stay outside and play with him on such a “nice day”.  Dad would leave a shed open for him to go into at night, and leave some straw and blankets and stuff for him to stay warm, and Dawg would ignore it.  He wouldn’t even sleep beside a building for a windbreak.  He’d sleep out in the open, right on top of the snow.  He didn’t mind it a bit.  In fact, he seemed to love it.

Now again, we should all take proper care of our animals.  But the point is that all animals are not the same.  Therefore, it’s not right to judge how someone takes care of their animals when we don’t know all the facts

And when you think about it, that applies to people, too.  All people are not the same.  We all grew up differently.  We all grew up in different locations, in different settings, with different families, with different influences on our lives.  All those differences contribute to shaping who we are, what we believe, and how we think.  They shape our preferences, our tastes, our opinions, and our personalities.  They shape how we see life.  Therefore, it’s not right to judge someone when we don’t know all the facts.

This is not to say there is no such thing as right and wrong.  There is.  God makes that pretty clear in the Bible.  But God also has a great capacity for understanding.  God knows everything about us.  God knows all the things that have happened to us.  God knows who we are, and God knows why we are who we are.  You and I don’t know these things about others.  Often, we don’t even know them about ourselves.  That’s why judgment is best left in God’s hands.

Let’s take good care of our animals.  But let’s love the people in our lives, too.  Even the people who think differently from us.  Even the people who act differently from us.  Even the people who seem to dislike us, and even the people who dislike us for no reason.  Even the people who are completely opposed to us and what we believe.  We don’t have to agree with them.  But we should still love them. 

It’s not always easy, but we should do it.  The least we can do is try.  I’m pretty sure that’s what Jesus would want us to do.