The Question of Right and Wrong

I’ve always had a problem with the black and white and the grey areas.  I was raised in a heavily legalistic environment by loving parents who lived what they taught. Today I came to a sad but sure realization that settles the discussion of right and wrong.

It began in my morning devotion time when I wandered off the text.  I was thinking about why Jesus stayed for 40 days and then started thinking about John the baptizer.  Can you tell I’ve entered the book of Acts? 

Some how, I ended up on the rich young man who came and asked Jesus what he could do to gain eternal life.  Jesus loved him; he wanted him as a disciple.  They established that he was a good man who did right by others and tried to honor God in his behaviors.  They also established that he needed more than that.  Jesus told him to go sell what he had and give it to the poor and then come follow him.  He could not.  He walked away.  You see, that has always bothered me.  I’ve just never had a handle on it until this afternoon.

Almost a year ago I got this pretty, intelligent, good-natured dog.  I’ve taught him tricks and commands.  I’ve brushed him and cleaned him and made sure he had good nutritious and satisfying food.  I give him treats for no reason at all.  I give him treats when he learns a new skill.  I play with him; I love on him.  He has a warm place to stay and toys to play with.  There are two or three things we don’t see eye to eye on.  But he’s learning to comply and I’m trying to teach him in a positive way.  He is affectionate and seems to enjoy my company.

But, as yet, he does not ‘belong’ to me.  What happened this afternoon isn’t really the point and were I to tell it all, many would say 'That's just the nature of that breed.’  And I would agree.  But I’ve seen dogs that really belonged to their masters.  I’ve watched them in a pinch.  You see, I want Willow to rise above his breed.  I want him to follow me.  I want him to be my dog.  I want to be able to trust him when I’m not looking.  I want him to belong to me.  We aren’t there yet.  He is still a wild dog at heart and his love for me cannot rule the wild dog in him.

I was hurt more than angry.  I’m not going to send him to the human society or give up on him or refrain from caring for him as I have done.  But I was saddened by the whole thing. 

And then in my human upheaval the answer came to the long time question of right and wrong, black and white.  It’s not about right and wrong; it’s about to whom you belong.  If I belong to myself, I do what I do naturally.  I obey when I decide to or when it’s in my best interest to do so by my judgment.  If I belong to myself, obeying the ‘rules’ makes me a pretty good person. 

But if I belong to God through Christ, it is about obeying his voice, submitting to his design for my character and for the days of my life.  It is not about the commandments or the moral code of this or that church group.  Obeying Christ will take care of the commandments and laws, but it will do so much more.  I know this is not new.  But I have seen it new this day.