What Kids and Pets Teach

                 The Dalmatian peers in through the glass door and rises up on her hind legs. “Can the little boy come out to play?” she seems to ask. Just now, she gets the grumpy old man. I’m time pressed. Must write this article, work on my lessons. “Go away,” I growl as I lift her off my lap and back into the yard.

                 My poor pets never know which part of me they’re going to encounter. The cat saw my “daddy” side when I caught him sharpening his claws on the loveseat. He promptly fled to the glass door, where I ushered him outside. Smart cat. Too smart for his own good. Sneaky and devious, he simply waited at the back door an hour later when I opened it to go outside. Furtively, he twisted around the door jamb and stole back inside, ignoring my baleful glance.

At middle age, we wear our “adult” faces. Time is precious. Scripture tells us to “redeem the time, because the days are evil.” –Ephesians 5:16. Childishness is reserved for children. Adults need to, well—act like adults. Show some maturity; control your anger. Be tolerant. Compromise when needed. Act for the greater good, sacrifice for the family, that sort of thing. Proverbs 24:27 says “Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.” Proverbs 24: 30-34 relates the account of the lazy man whose farm had grown into disrepair, covered with weeds and thorns. It’s necessary to be busy, life requires hard work.

However, sometimes it’s time for the little boy to come out and play. Sometimes I let him out. It’s good to throw a ball, toss a Frisbee, or romp with the Dalmatian in the back yard. “Eat honey,” adds the wise man. “It’s good.” –Proverbs 24:13. He praises the merry heart: “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” Also, “All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.”—Proverbs 15:13, 15. The Wisdom Literature testifies that laughter is indeed the best medicine: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” –Proverbs 17:22. Children have merry hearts. That’s why Jesus reminded the disciples to become child-like in order to enter the kingdom. Child-like humility unlocks the door to the kingdom of heaven. Childlike happiness makes the church-house a place of healing. I often watch little children turning cartwheels as they enter the church-house. That must have been what the Psalmist meant when he said “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”—Psalm 122:1. It’s good to let the little child in you come out to play once in a while. Does your heart good, too.

(By the way, I don’t have any pets at present. This is an article I wrote that needed a repeat. I plan to get a dog soon. Cats, no. I’m allergic, and my daughter no longer lives with me.)