Wild dogs versus pets.

I'm a dog lover. I had a dog named Mister for 14 years. He was a big Irish Setter with a sweet temperament and a loud bark. When I first moved into my house I fenced in the back yard so that Mister could have free reign back there. I also put a gate on my front porch because Mister was a runner.

There used to be this cat that loved to sit about ten feet away from the fence and just look at Mister. Mister would bark and bark at that stupid cat and I'm sure in that moment he was cussing that fence. But what Mister may not have realized is that fence gave him freedom and protection. Because he was a runner I never could trust Mister to just go out and do his thing without being attached to a leash. Because of the fence he had the freedom to roam the back yard. The fence kept out other animals that might attack him. It kept him from getting lost, stolen, hit by a car.

I eventually realized he could be trusted while I wasn't home. This changed our lives (for Mister, more than me.) Now I could leave him outside while I was at work. I'm a teacher and a coach so sometimes I'm gone for 12 hours at at time. I would just leave Mister out in the morning with some food and water and not have to worry about him making a mess. He LOVED to be outside.

Sometimes in the heat of the summer or frozeness of the winter I would not let him out. He didn't like that at all! I had to box out to keep him from rushing out as I left. But I was protecting him because I realized it wasn't good from him to be out in that weather.

As a pet Mister had it pretty good. He was well fed. We walked almost daily. He had a safe, comfortable place to sleep - in bed with me. I took him to the vet regularly to keep him healthy. I loved on him.

Now a wild dog might have seen Mister and thought he had it pretty bad. The wild dog would scoff at a fence because it prevents her from going where she wants. As a wild dog she doesn't have to worry about being told what to do, chasing stupid balls, getting baths, getting shots, eating boring dog food. She can chase any cat she wants. She has no rules. Total freedom.

But is total freedom what is really best? See being a pet is a lot like being a child of God. When we are in His family we are watched after, guided, loved. God sets boundaries for us that we might not like: don't sleep around, don't talk badly about others, don't steal, don't kill, give your money away. In the moment we might not like these rules. We might wish for total freedom to do whatever we want.
What the stray dog doesn't like to think about are the perils she faces that Mister never had to worry about. She has to worry about being attacked by other dogs or people.  She might get hit by a car. When the weather is bad she suffers through it. She doesn't know where her next meal is coming from. When she gets sick she just suffers.

You see, rules are boundaries just like my fence was for Mister. They protect us from harm either from outside forces or from our own destruction. Maybe we can't do what we want but we know who we are. We are loved by the One who created the entire universe just by SPEAKING. We know that our future in (what I like to call) Super Heaven is secure.  He feeds us. He guides us. He protects us.

So which would I rather be? A pet for sure! I want to be loved and cared for. Freedom isn't all its cracked up to be.