My wife and I are thinking about getting a dog. Dogs can be a lot of work. But there are a few things about dogs that really rock;  dogs love you. They always want to be near you or play catch. Dogs are loyal. I have seen dogs that have been mistreated by their owners; yelled at, swatted on the nose, even kicked. But when the owner comes home, the dog wags his tail.

Dogs can be trained. I knew a pastor in Iowa who owned a beautiful  Akita. The dog went with him everywhere. If there was a long meeting, the pastor would take his dog and sit him down in front of the church. He would tell the dog to stay and there Fido* sat until the master returned.

Maybe this is why we love dogs. They will always love us. They are loyal, even when mistreated. They can be trained to do what we want them to do. Oh how we wish that Jesus could be like that.

Let’s face it, if we’re not really serious about our relationship with Jesus, we treat him like a dog. I don’t mean dog in the sense of a girl who dumps her cheating boyfriend, “I dumped that dog!”  I mean dog in the sense that we can treat Jesus any way we want knowing that he will always love us and be loyal to us. And if we act just right or say the right things, we might even be able to train Jesus to do what we want him to do.

How do you know if you treat Jesus like a dog? Ask yourself the following. Do you

·         Ask Jesus to wait in the car while you go into work?

·         Put him in the back room of your house when friends are over?

·         Expect him to love you even when you don’t treat him like you should?

·         Expect him to come running to you when you call his name?

·         Expect to be able to train him to do what you want him to do?

When you think about your relationship with Jesus, what images come to mind? Is he walking along side you on a leash so you can keep some control over him, or do you cut that leash loose and allow him to establish the course of your journey? Are you willing to follow him for a change and allow him to set the direction of your life? Perhaps we are the ones who should show a little loyalty and eagerly await for Jesus to call our name. What would you say if he did?

* I don’t remember the dog’s actual name. But I think we can all agree that Fido is the universal name for dogs. And if you’re concerned, I don’t remember the pastor’s name either. But it was Iowa and the story is true

Here are a few quotes from the clip [with my interpretation] 

The noise… you are allowing to be called worship
[Your music is invalid and God doesn’t like it]

I’m not mad at you I’m just angry that you’re not listening to common sense.
[I’m mad at you]

You better watch out…
[I have it in for you]

[This church] think they have financial troubles now? Just wait until somebody that knows what they’re doing gets a hold of this.
[I am hoping this church faces financial ruin because you are playing music I don’t like and playing it too loud.]

It doesn’t have to be rock’n’roll music with quote Christian words unquote … it actually hurts the body. Why can’t you give something melodic and soft so we can come in and pray?
[God doesn’t like your music. God likes my music. I think she also said Christian words hurt the body]

Yes we’re praying for you but please do something about the music. I’ll give you one more week.
[I’m (not we) praying that you will become less like the man God is developing you into and instead become more like me. And I’m praying my will be done in 7 days.]

Thank you.
[?]

As a pastor, a video clip like this drives me mad. Not angry mad, but mad in the sense that I have so many emotions I don’t know what to feel. I get a knot in my stomach and I just want to hug the guy that got this voice mail.

I believe I can wrap up everything I want to say with one question. If the caller understood that the purpose of worship was to reach out to a particular people and draw them in to experience the presence of God so they could be transformed and God glorified, would she have made a call like this?

Adam and Eve had the whole world. They could pretty much do anything they wanted. As far as I can tell God gave them one rule; they could not eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden.  If they even touched it they would die.

But the serpent was crafty. He spoke to Eve and said, “Did God say you couldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?” She said, “I can eat from any tree except that one. If I eat from that tree, or even touch it I’ll die.”

By asking that question, he got Eve to starting thinking about the one tree she wasn’t allowed to even touch. Once he got her thinking about temptation the serpent used the truth to do evil. He said “You won’t die, you’ll be just like God knowing good and evil.” He tells the truth but in a misleading way.

That serpent was one sneaky snake!

Eve was deceived. She took the fruit and she ate it. She knew she wasn’t supposed to. Then she gave some to Adam. By the way, he was with her the whole time and never spoke up. Wimp. As soon as they ate, their eyes were opened, they realized they were naked, and for the first time, they felt shame.

As they were putting the final touches on their new fig leaf wardrobes God entered the garden. Adam and Even knew they broke every rule in the book (at this time I think there was only one rule… don’t eat what they just ate) and afraid of God for the first time, they went and hid.

God found them… bid shocker. And then he asked Adam and Eve why they were hiding. He noticed a little bit of juice running down Adam’s lip and God asked him, “Did you eat from the tree I told you not to?”

Adam defended himself, “The woman you gave me, she fed me the fruit.” In doing so he denied responsibility for his actions and blamed his own behavior on both God and Eve.

God asked Eve if this was true. “Did you really do this?” Eve replied, “It’s not my fault, I was tricked. It’s the serpent’s fault.” Eve has learned the art of passing the buck too.

The serpent was right. Adam and Eve did not physically die. But they have changed. Who they were before that day began died. They’ve been transformed. They now use the truth to try and mislead God.

Adam and Eve are sneaky snakes!

Have you ever used the truth to mislead someone? Boss, I’d have that project done but Larry wouldn’t return my phone calls so I didn’t have the information I needed. It’s his fault I’m behind schedule. I didn’t pass that test because I didn’t have time to study… but wow, what a great ending to Lost! God, I know you want me to give to the Church but I just don’t have the finances right now… I’ll have a non-fat, double shot mocha please. Make sure that lid’s on tight. I don’t want to spill it in my new car which will be mine after 84 easy payments.

We justify our behaviors. We take advantage of God’s grace. We use the truth to manipulate others, to manipulate God.

We are sneaky snakes!

Just like he did with Adam and Eve God comes to us. He covers our shame. Ultimately, He gives our honor back to us by sharing our shame on the cross. By taking our guilt onto himself God has redeemed us and transformed us back into his children again.

God loves sneaky snakes!