(a 3 minute read) This is my dog Sophie. She is 8 years old, a 65-70 Lbs. mutt of black beauty and gentleness. She is of course spoiled rotten, but she was trained as a puppy to mind. In her puppy years there were issues as with any other dog. Past that though, she has been an example of a well behaved dog.

My wife and I say that she is the most expressive dog we’ve ever had. Her love is evident in how she looks at you as well as in her actions. May be it is the way she tucks her head into your body, or places her jaw on your leg and press down, while raising her eyes to look at you intently. Or the way Sophie will just follow as you move from one room to the next, or wants into the bathroom so she’s just there with you. Then there is this thing where she sits next to you and places her paw on a part of your body, and just leaves it there. I tell you, you just feel the love.

Sometimes a thought creeps through my mind, “We feed her every day and care for her when she’s not feeling good. Of course she worships the ground we walk on. Her love is nothing but an instinctual behavior.”  Then I wonder, if it is just instinct, then why, if I forgot to feed her, and there is food left on the kitchen counter, well within her reach, she still does not go after that food, hungry or not. Why? That’s when I realize that Sophie, a dog, is making choices. Choices that she knows will make me proud of her, choices that please me.  If that is pushing it too far, how about she knows what displeases me and she chooses not to do that.

Think of a grown dog, Max, with an owner that punishes continually, as a training technique. If the owner saw in Max’s eyes a glimpse of misbehavior, he immediately presents the tool of punishment as a reminder of what may happen if Max misbehaved. Can you see it? Max immediately tucks his head down, and he is looking for a way to disappear, cannot find one, hunching turns around himself a couple of times then lies down. Max is probably a very well behaved dog. Hardly ever gets into trouble. Those that encounter Max by chance, are fascinated by his behavior and impressed by his owner. But is Max a content dog or is he in survival mode?

Sophie, just a few months ago, started tearing stuff up, like ripping furniture. The diagnosis was separation anxiety. She needs to be caged. We did that, shame on us……… During a couple of weeks of caging her, and the agony, for Sophie and for us that accompanied this action, we did some research to find out it could be an ailment and it’s her way of letting us know that something is wrong. It is the relationship that Sophie has with us that gave her the courage, the nerve and the audacity to express herself. She trusted us.

Indeed there was something wrong. Sophie is no longer caged, and she is feeling much better with the steps taken to alleviate the pain she had.

The question is; would Max have expressed himself in a manner similar to Sophie’s? Or would he have just taken in the pain, in fear of retaliation?

Our Lord and Creator wants a relationship that is full of contentment, full of audacity of expression and void of fear of retaliation. The choices to not do what displeases our Lord are a given, are assumed and are agreed upon. Therefore, let us focus on making the choices that will please the Lord, be intentional on choosing to do what will make the Creator smile proud of us. “This is my daughter/son, with whom I am well pleased.”