Not long ago I wrote about how Charlie has quite a repertoire of tricks he can do. Like many dogs, he can sit, speak, and lay down. In addition to that, Charlie can roll over, play dead, and shake hands. His tricks are amusing for me and my friends, but not all dogs do tricks.
Some dogs live a very simple life. They never learn any tricks at all. I guess their owners either treat those animals as outside pets or perhaps don’t have the patience for using nonverbal cues to teach an animal.
There are other dogs that have a tremendous capacity for learning, but I wouldn't really call what they do tricks. We have trained dogs to sniff out drugs, to function as security animals, and even to be working companions to people with a variety of disabilities.
Service dogs are trained to help people with disabilities including service to those who are blind, deaf, and/or paralyzed in some way. These dogs can do such things as lead a person, turn lights on and off, retrieve needed objects, and even bring a phone.
All of these learned abilities don’t necessarily speak to the intelligence of the dog as much to their formation and training. Of course, their particular temperament is a factor in both their training and then what partner they are paired with.
I think people aren’t much different when it comes to occupations. There are folks who have a capacity to learn many skills, and there are those that don’t. We have nurses, doctors, and surgeons who are all in the medical field, but have different types of training and education. Also necessary masons and plumbers have specialized training, but in a much different environment than medical professionals.
We have come to accept that people have a different capacity for learning and study, and also different natural talents and temperaments. These things play a pivotal role in what occupation a person eventually takes on in life. We also respect the person that decides after 20 or 30 years in a particular field, that they want to do something different, and so learn a new trade.
Right about now I suppose you are thinking, sure Christy, but what does any of this have to do with God or the Church? Well, I think these are very much related!
When we talk about our faith life, it has become popular to call it a journey. In this diocese, we even refer to it as a “journey of a lifetime.” Although we say those words, I don’t know if we really give them the credence they deserve.
It seems to me we go about expecting others to have the same level of engagement in our faith life that we do.
Whether we have a little or a lot of God in our life, we think everybody ought to do the same. But that isn’t really how we were made, was it?
We also say we should meet people where they are, but then hold them to a higher standard than they are able to fulfil, but that isn’t fair or just.
Just like dogs in their abilities, or our occupations, people learn and grow in their faith both to different levels of understanding and in different ways of engagement. They also grow at different rates and based on different circumstances.
We don’t have control over another person’s faith life any more than we have control over any of their relationships. Each individual has to come to relationship with God in their own way. It isn’t ours to judge how much a person can handle at their particular juncture. All we can offer others is what hasmade sense for us and how God has been present in our lives. That may or may not work for the other person, and we need to learn to give that to God.
Ultimately, I don’t think a dog is loved any less if he does a thousand tricks or none at all. The same is true of God. Right, Charlie?
-Christy Cabaniss
Parish Minister
