Do I love my neighbor as my dog?

Do I love my neighbor as my dog? Do you love and honor others like you do the pets who share your home? 

I took Bernie, my long haired dachshund, on an evening walk. Summertime heat limits our activity to early morning and late evening, and our walks are shorter so neither of us overheat. But my favorite dog trainer told me that 20 minutes of sniffing for a dog like Bernie equals a mile of running for me.

So I allow him  to explore, moving slowly between leaves and blades of grass, pausing often to gather as much information as he can from a scent. I may be bored, but it’s better than chasing him all over the neighborhood.

Catch and release Bernie style.

Not far from home, Bernie stopped at a pile of leaves the wind had blown against an exposed tree root. His body stiffened and he barked a series of excited yips. A chipmunk darted out of the leaves and up the tree. Bernie seemed quite pleased with himself and we continued our walk. I forgot his escapade, but he didn’t.

When we started back home, Bernie headed straight for the tree root where he had last seen the chipmunk. I was sure the little guy was long gone, but Bernie’s nose told him otherwise. He pawed at the ground disturbing the chipmunk like before. But this time, Bernie latched onto the creature’s tail. I was relieved to see the victim wriggle free and flee, much to Bernie’s disappointment.

After I congratulated him on practicing “catch and release” we headed home. I had a new respect for Bernie’s prowess as a hunter. I had no idea he was fast enough to catch anything other than a toad. But that’s story for another day. 

Born to hunt.

When we got home, I started thinking about Bernie’s conquest. Why would he stalk and catch a cute little creature like a chipmunk? The answer is obvious. Bernie is hardwired to be a hunter, and yes, sometime a killer. DNA is funny like that.

What a nose!!

 Bernie’s nose is a marvel. While we have about 6 million scent receptors in our brains, a scent hound like Bernie has around 200 million. He relies on his nose much like I rely on my eyes. It is his primary interface with the world.

His slender, low slung frame is built to maneuver tight spaces and navigate suffocating underground tunnels. He has shovel like front paws, perfect to dig and locate prey. Yes, my cute little cuddle buddy is a born predator, and  a better one than I thought.

He’s no badger hunter

A good dog owner understands their dog. Bernie won’t ever hunt badgers like his ancestors, but I provide alternatives that he seems to find satisfactory. He tears into cardboard boxes with gusto and tells the neighborhood cats to mind the property line. He may dispatch a squirrel or chipmunk on any given day. But I offer less brutal options, and he’s usually satisfied. 

I let Bernie be Bernie. But what about the people around me? Do I value them like I do him? Do I give them grace? Am I as careful to honor their quirks and needs as I am to give Bernie what he craves? Do I love my neighbor as I do my dog?

Do I love my neighbor as my dog? 

Humans, after all, are eternal souls made in the image of God. 

Not so ordinary 

CS Lewis says “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” And he insists that how we treat one another has eternal significance. We can either spur one another to holiness or depravity, toward Heaven or Hell.

Think about that for a moment. The driver who cuts me off in traffic is immortal. So is my neighbor across the street and the person who sits behind me at church. Every single person who crosses my path is an immortal soul. And God cares about how I treat each one.

We all have people in our lives that encourage us to be better people and a few who challenge our prayer life every time we are together. But God puts them all in proximity to us to make us more like Christ. 

I’m quick to make allowances for Bernie. But do I make allowances when a friend lashes out after a bad day? Do I love my neighbor as my dog? 

How can I love my neighbor as my dog? 

What are some practical ways that we can honor the gifts that God has given others? How can I spur others to holiness and Heaven?

Learn to listen well

Bernie and I often spend mornings on my front porch while I read and pray and he surveys his kingdom – better known as my front yard. When he hears something interesting, I know right away. His body tenses, and he turns toward the noise. His moves his ears forward as he focuses in the direction of the new stimulus.

Compare this to how some of us act in a while engaged in a conversation with someone. We glance around the room at other things, check out what’s on TV, or even. more egregious, we check our cell phones.

I make a conscious choice these days to leave my cell phone in a pocket on my bag, I try to look people in the eye and be fully present with  whoever I am speaking with.  We disrespect a person’s worth when we treat our cell phones as more important.  And we miss important cues in their body language, tone of voice and other nonverbal indicators of their condition. 

I want to listen with the same intensity that Bernie does. 

 Respond, don’t react

Learn to respond rather than react. If someone lashes out at me, it is my natural bent to react in kind. This only escalates an already touchy situation. If I l blow my horn or make a rude gesture to the driver who cut me off, not only am I not acting like Christ and not honoring the immortal person but I could be putting myself in danger. Road rage is a real thing. But Proverbs says that “a soft answer turns away wrath.”

Be aware of what’s going on around you.

Learn who your neighbors are. Pay attention to their needs. I have a friend who hosts holiday meals for anyone who doesn’t have a place to go. She saw a need, and she responded. Another friend realized her neighbor suffered a financial setback. Instead of giving her directions to the local food pantry, she drove her neighbor there, making a difficult situation a bit easier. 

Admit what you don’t know.

We have access to more information than ever before. We can read a couple of articles and believe we understand something. But when we take a breath and allow others to share, sometimes we find that their experience gives them unique perspective. 

Pray first.  And last. 

The greatest gift we can give others is to pray for them. When someone asks me to pray for them, I try to pray right then unless it’s too awkward. But I know I have to write it down, or I may forget until I see them again. This may be the one exception to keeping your phone in your pocket, though a notebook and pen works as well. 

To love my neighbor as my dog is a holy exercise

I enjoy my dogs. I write a lot about their antics. Since I live alone, they are often my only company. But how I treat my dogs isn’t nearly as important as how I treat my friends and neighbors, and yes, the random people that I meet every single day. God says that the righteous man cares for the life of his animals. But how we treat each other has eternal ramifications.

Jesus had a lot to say about relationships. He told his followers seeking reconciliation was more important than worship. Or rather, reconciliation needs to come before worship. If we took this instruction seriously, our churches might be strangely empty as worshippers remember an offense and leave to make it right. 

Lewis concluded, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”   Most of us know that Communion is a holy time and we are to treat the elements with respect and gravity. God created humans to be his image bearers, and no less worthy of respect and gravity. When I reframe my interactions with others by thinking of them as holy image bearers rather than common humans, my attitude will change. 

 

Quotations from “Weight of Glory” by CS Lewis are from TruthSeekersministries.org.

Photo Credit. Feature Image of author and dogs and picture of Bernie in blue vest are by Becky Ollinger.

Other photos by the author.

*Daisy, my older dog, wasn’t involved in this adventure. But she’s alive and well for anyone curious about her.