The Beast

It is pretty well known that my dog is constantly referred to as beastly or demonic. Most people would think this is a dramatization, which is partly true, but anyone who has encountered my dog may feel tempted to agree. The moment someone walks through our front door you can hear the horror music play as the dog rips across the front room and launches her 60 lb self at the poor innocent guest. Needless to say, I have had more than one friend complain about having my dog stick its head in their mouth after ambushing them on the couch.

There was also a time where I could claim she was eating us out of house and home. It was about six months after owning her that, after letting her in from outside, we noticed she had brought something in with her. After a little chasing, we found that Padme (my dog) had brought in a chunk of cement. She was literally eating our house. She has also attacked our blinds that cover the sliding glass door and tugged up carpet in the front room. Needless to say she can be quite the hassle. Beast-like if you will.

Yet, there's this part of her, late at night, where she settles down and curls up next to you on the couch. It's sweet and, while most don't see this side of her, it makes everything else worth it.

Now, i'm sure you're wondering why the heck i'm writing about my dog. Well, in a lot of ways we are like my dog, Padme, Destroyer of Worlds.

There's a C.S. Lewis quote that says, "Let's pray that the human race never escapes Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere." Most may agree with Lewis when we read all the sad stories and see all the depressing news on television. Yet, my first response was, "What about our potential for good?"

Because, you see, we are so accustomed to noticing the beastly part of humanity that we hardly take notice of the good qualities of man. Yes, we should be aware of all of the bad things going on, but we should not stop there. And, if for some reason you can't see any good, then be the good, and shortly it should follow you. God will never completely abandon you. There's always something out there, even if it happens to be a beastly dog with a secretive loving side late at night.