Take The High Road

Caring for five cats and a dog is a lot like raising children.  Our three children often would be in a fight.  I would always require them to apologize, hug each other, and say I love you.  We are a family and we care for each other.

 

One hot and dry July morning (2012) our youngest daughter, Hannah, and her Dad were feeding our five hungry cats and our dog, Nanook.  Hannah carried the 20 pound bag of Science Diet Cat out to the back porch.  She slowly lowered the bag onto the porch.  She allowed the bag to drop the last foot.  Plop!

“Mew, mew, mew!” our cats cried as they circled Hannah legs.  She had taken the huge bag outside to pour the cat food into smaller and easier to carry containers.  She set two bowls of cat food on top of the barbeque for Captain and Rose.  They both jump on top of the barbeque.  Missy’s bowl was set on the picnic table.  Missy jumped and began daintily eating.  Bonnie eats on the front porch so Hannah took Bonnie a bowl to the front porch.

While she took care of Bonnie, Sam grew impatient and decided to take matters into his own hands.  He stuck his head into the huge bag of cat food.  Sam stood on his hind legs on the porch and front feet and upper torso inside the bag.  He was having a hay day eating.  He was in cat food heaven.

While Hannah cared for the cats, her Dad was watering the lawn.  Suddenly, Nanook yipped as if to say, “Look what Sam is doing!  He should not be doing this!”  Nanook paced back and forth.  “Yip!” again Nanook barked.  By this time Hannah was back on the porch to carry the cat food back into the garage in a safe place.  Her Dad turned around to see what Nanook was fussing about.

Hannah and her Dad looked at each other and burst out laughing.  Nanook was tattling on Sam.  It was so funny since those two have never really cooperated together.  Sam was always stealing Nanook’s dog food or slapping Nanook.  On numerous occasions we have heard Nanook growling at Sam.  “Yip, yip, yip!” Nanook barked and ran in a circle around Sam.  “Settle down!” ordered Dad. 

Hannah prepared Sam a bowl and took him to a corner on the porch to eat.  Nanook was given his bowl of dog food.  Everybody was happy, at least for awhile.

Nanook and Sam reminded me of similar relationships I have seen in some people.  These relationships show symptoms such as disrespectfulness, back biting, flaring tempers, rudeness, and taking offense easily.  It takes a strong person to take the high road, to show kindness in the midst of rudeness. 

Yet that is what the Bible says to do.  In Matthew 5:44 it reads, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?”