6:00 AM
Max’ism – My Four
James 2:1-11
Max is not a people person kind of dog. There four people in his life that he loves—me, my husband, my son, and my daughter. Oh, he tolerates a few others—my son’s girlfriend, a couple of my daughter’s friends, and the cat. But on the whole, Max pretty much believes in the old saying, “my four and no more.”
That was made evident the day we invited the varsity football team over to our house. As part of pre-game day tradition, parents of varsity football players have started making dinner for the team on Thursday nights. Around 5:30, the first boy arrived. Max barked when the car pulled into the driveway just as he always does, but when the boy came into the house, Max promptly grabbed his pant leg and started tugging. I couldn’t get him to stop. Fearful that his actions might turn even more aggressive, I shut Max up in our bedroom for the duration of the meal. It would have worked, if my daughter hadn’t gone into the bedroom for something. Out shot Max, barking, growling, the hair on his back standing straight on end. I must admit, I laughed when I saw all twenty of those macho football players pull their feet up onto the couch. Fortunately, once Max warmed up to everyone, he was pretty much content to ignore the intruders and everyone went home without a scratch.
Later that night, Max lay curled up on the loveseat next to me, his cold little nose tucked into the crook of my arm.
“It’s funny how he can be so loving to us, and so aggressive toward everyone else,” my husband said.
“Yep. I’d say he’s partial to us,” I replied, laughing.
But that got me to thinking.
Are there certain people I show partiality to? Do I show favor to some and not others? Has my church become a place where I’m content to say, “my four and no more?” Too many times, I’m afraid the answer to these questions would be yes. Even more frightening is the idea that my favor may be influenced by a person’s wealth or position in the community. I guess that’s why God saw fit to warn against showing partiality, and why I’m inclined to listen.
James 2:1-11
Max is not a people person kind of dog. There four people in his life that he loves—me, my husband, my son, and my daughter. Oh, he tolerates a few others—my son’s girlfriend, a couple of my daughter’s friends, and the cat. But on the whole, Max pretty much believes in the old saying, “my four and no more.”
That was made evident the day we invited the varsity football team over to our house. As part of pre-game day tradition, parents of varsity football players have started making dinner for the team on Thursday nights. Around 5:30, the first boy arrived. Max barked when the car pulled into the driveway just as he always does, but when the boy came into the house, Max promptly grabbed his pant leg and started tugging. I couldn’t get him to stop. Fearful that his actions might turn even more aggressive, I shut Max up in our bedroom for the duration of the meal. It would have worked, if my daughter hadn’t gone into the bedroom for something. Out shot Max, barking, growling, the hair on his back standing straight on end. I must admit, I laughed when I saw all twenty of those macho football players pull their feet up onto the couch. Fortunately, once Max warmed up to everyone, he was pretty much content to ignore the intruders and everyone went home without a scratch.
Later that night, Max lay curled up on the loveseat next to me, his cold little nose tucked into the crook of my arm.
“It’s funny how he can be so loving to us, and so aggressive toward everyone else,” my husband said.
“Yep. I’d say he’s partial to us,” I replied, laughing.
But that got me to thinking.
Are there certain people I show partiality to? Do I show favor to some and not others? Has my church become a place where I’m content to say, “my four and no more?” Too many times, I’m afraid the answer to these questions would be yes. Even more frightening is the idea that my favor may be influenced by a person’s wealth or position in the community. I guess that’s why God saw fit to warn against showing partiality, and why I’m inclined to listen.
1 comments :
Max is so cute. My daughter has a Jakey just like Max, but Jakey is very friendly, although his bark is worse than his bite. It is a scary cat, I have a cat and Jakey is scared of him.
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