When Baxter drinks from his water dish he makes a mess. He doesn't politely lap up a portion until he is satisfied. He first has to paw the water to make it move. Of course, this action splashes it all over the floor, leaving puddles to mop. For the longest time, I thought Baxter did this to be ornery. It was his way to get back at me for having him neutered or limiting his food intake. However, just recently, I read that cats do this for another reason.
They are farsighted, and consequently, they cannot see where the surface of the standing water in a bowl begins. They don’t like to get their noses wet by misjudging the water level, so to avoid this discomfort, they paw at it. Cats can better see the moving surface, and so have a wet tongue but a dry nose. I gained a new respect for Baxter’s intelligence and a better understanding of his ways by this simple bit of information. I also solved the problem of the wet floor. I just place a pie plate under Baxter’s bowl to catch the splash, and the wave action is contained. Because we understand each other better, we can live together with less aggravation and harsh judgments levied against each other.
The same holds true for human beings. We sometimes come to conclusions about each other without really knowing what is going on. We assume the worst and act accordingly. We think people won’t, when maybe they can’t or were never asked. We impute motives on others’ actions which may have nothing to do with the real reasons. We can lay on others our way of thinking when actually they see things totally differently and act with that interest in mind. Actions can hold different meanings from different viewpoints and backgrounds. And we may feed misconceptions about each other. One person tells another, “Look at him or her, doing thus and so, for such and such a reason.” We help each other be misinformed so that we can misjudge each other and dismiss those who aren't like us for our own reasons.
What if God acted that way? We would all be out in the cold, relying upon our “friends” to watch our backs, but worried that they might abandon us when the popular word about us changes its stripes. Our lives would be splashing back and forth led by the most recent rumor someone concocted about us. We would soon feel lost and wonder if there is any recourse to the truth about ourselves.
But God is faithful and true. While others may jump to conclusions, God knows our hearts, minds and spirits. He knows that our motives are usually mixed for what we do, but He takes the best in the mix and builds upon it. He encourages us to do good for others and ourselves. He gives us the benefit of the doubt when the path we have taken is unsure. He sends others who have our best interest in mind to offer advice and guide us. We see all of this in the way Jesus treated others.
He wants to know a person’s story from his or her perspective. He looks to help others drink of God’s goodness rather than punish them for spilling some water. He tells them to go forward with their lives, learning from their mistakes, accepting forgiveness and offering others what he gave them. Jesus is short on judgment and long on understanding another person’s viewpoint.
So go ahead, Baxter, splash all you like. It won’t harm anything, and it will keep your nose dry. Good advice for all of us.
