This beautiful medium sized dog wandered up to my house about a week ago amid all the storms rumbling through our area and stayed. I have nicknamed the sweet thing "Bear" and I bet you can guess why! No collar, covered in ticks and fleas, starving and seems to be afraid of getting in trouble for eating the food you put in front of him, but wants to be loved sooooooo badly. He looks at you with these eyes that say, "Will you be my family? I won't hurt anything, I just want to be loved." I have tried, through facebook to find the owner, but my guess is that he was dropped. I live in the country and on a corner lot so it's convenient for people who are looking to get out of responsibility. Even if he does belong to someone in my vicinity, it is certain they aren't caring for him the way he should be cared for.
I have been trying to understand where to go for the next basic understanding and this beautiful creature has given me a lesson to share. There is a very basic principle in Jewish thought and in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) which is essential to everything we say and do in life. This principle is called "Measure for Measure" and is the basis behind what other religions call karma, but reaches even further beyond that concept.
Let me start with the animals and work my way up from there. Look with me at Deuteronomy 22:6-7 I am going to quote from the TANACH (Jewish translation from Hebrew to English of the Old Testament), because the wording in the English translations do not convey the true meaning of this verse.
"If a bird's nest happens to be before you on the road, on any tree or on the ground - young birds or eggs - and the mother is roosting on the young birds or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. You shall surely send away the mother and take the young for yourself, so that it will be good for you and will prolong your days."
The English translations of this verse say you are to let the mother bird go, but you can see that the original translation says to "send" her away. The intent is that she not be allowed to see you take her young from her and thus suffer at your hands. A compassionate act of mercy! This commandment, by the way, is referred to by the Jews as "The Least Commandment." Have you heard that phrase somewhere before?
There is a story from the Midrash (the oral traditions), of two Rabbi's who are discussing punishment. I will just give the story in a nutshell. One asks how G-d would determine the punishment for sins. The other replies that He would just present the man with the same situation in his own life to see what judgement he, himself would pronounce upon it. Whatever judgement he gives will be the same given back to him. And how did he know this? This is how God pronounced judgement on King David, through Nathan the prophet, when he had sinned with Bathsheba.
Have you noticed that many times in your own life you have faced a situation with which you pronounced judgement, only to see that same judgement come back at you later? Think about it! If you haven't you will see that the people or situations that irritate you the most within your life or on the job are the things in your life that you struggle the most with. Am I right? The next time you open your mouth to judge, see if that situation fits you first. Perhaps it was a situation from the past or it could be something you are dealing with now. Are you quick to judge a young woman who is sexually active? Were you the same? Perhaps it is someone at work who you think doesn't do their job. Do you always do yours to the best of your ability?
Be very careful what sentence you pronounce upon another! Look with me at Matthew 7:1-2 for a moment. In what we generally call The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly talks about this principle and even spells it out for us.
"Don't judge, so that you won't be judged. For the way you judge others is how you will be judged - the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you."
Oh my! I bet you haven't quoted those verses correctly have you? The only thing I hear when this gets quoted is, "Judge not!" There is a much deeper lesson going on here, but I must save that one for another time. Jesus continues in Matthew 7:12 with what we have come to know as "The Golden Rule."
"Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that sums up the teaching of the Torah and the Prophets."
For now, just know the measure we use in the treatment of everything and everyone around us is being used as a measuring stick on us. It is we who choose our punishment. I think about this in relation to the parent who asked the child, "Would you like for me to use the small tiny switch or the thicker branch when I spank you?" I would choose to live in such a way as to make it unnecessary to be spanked, thank you very much! But, alas I still do things which require a swat every now and then (as I stated in my last post).
Even the way we treat a bird on it's nest or a dog which has lost it's way in the storms. Everything created by God in Heaven is worthy of our attention and care. I feel for this poor animal. I know what it's like to loose track of where I belong. I am in mid-life now and trying to get my bearings. Both parents have passed on, both sons are now grown and have lives of their own and it's time to find my place separate and apart from them. Who am I and where do I belong? I know who I belong to, but sometimes amid the storms crashing around and the noise of traffic it can be frightening and I just get lost a little.
It is during these times that God sends something to remind me of home, something like Bear who's wandering too, just asking, "Can you love me?" It helps to keep me on track and remind me to treat others the way I want to be treated, even when they frustrate me to no end. They need love too and perhaps they are lost and lonely and need guidance back, just like Bear.
The local college students are moving in on campus today and for many of them, loneliness will set in shortly and the stress of campus life and classes will push them to the edge. Let me remind you as you go about your daily life, remember to say hello to these young people and be friendly. You may be the "home-base" they are needing for a moment just in order to get their bearings. Can you love them? Asian, Middle-Eastern, African, South American, it matters not the nationality or color. MEASURE FOR MEASURE!
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