Still Speaking of Dogs: Lessons from a Ranch Yard, Part 2

So back to my visit to the ranch (you’ll have to read Part 1 to get the back story)…

Seeing a horse kick a Doberman across the ranch yard was not the only notable behavior I observed that day. No, the dogs held yet another lesson for me.

Three dogs — two large and one small — became the protagonists of this next episode of my education. The object of their attention was not a horse; it was a very large bone.

The two big dogs were, naturally, the key players in this drama. Much bristling, snarling and circling. Here a feint, there a quick step forward…tensions were escalating, and it looked like war.

The two opponents faced off with the bone in the middle. Suddenly, all formalities were past and the fight was on.

Lunging, biting, growling, snapping, clawing…no quarter asked, and none given. Soon the lunging turned to rolling and wrestling, each dog intent on proving once and for all his dominance.

Enter the little dog. Earlier, he had stood back, knowing the folly of even appearing interested. But now that the two alphas were otherwise engaged, he saw a golden opportunity and took it. One quick dart and the bone was gone…and so was the little dog.

When the two gladiators finally came to a panting halt, they discovered their efforts were pointless. While they were distracted, someone had stolen the prize.

Joseph was aware of the danger of distraction when he instructed his brothers to not fight along the way as they went home to bring their father to Egypt to escape the famine (Genesis 45:24). He knew how quickly interpersonal problems can pull us away from the main thing…and the survival of his father and his family depended on making it to where Joseph was.

Paul also worried about missing out on the main thing. He mused about the danger of, having preached to others, he himself becoming a castaway (I Corinthians 9:27).

How’s your focus? Are your eyes fixed firmly on the prize, or have you allowed yourself to be drawn into petty squabbles and other distractions that will leave you no better off when you’re done…while someone else chews the bone?