Don’t Be A Barking Dog!

It is said that when the Creator of the universe had finished with His creating, He had a barking noise and an appetite left over so He made the dog.  Now, I like dogs. They are amazing companion animals, great hunting partners and just all around good company in general.  But the truth is, sometimes they bark at times when we wish they wouldn’t and if you have a large dog as I do, they can put away a surprising amount of food.

Now, we want our dogs to alert us to danger and feeding them is part of the responsibility of having a dog to care for.  So, it’s not that we want them to be always quiet and live on air and sunshine! However, there are just some things that make a dog want to lift up its head and bark.  We have a Great Pyrenees and one thing he does is patrol the property and bark all night.   He seems to go around and around the house, down into the woods and fields and back again.  He goes from the front to the back, runs across the deck and back around, bark, bark, bark.  A few years ago we had some guests staying with us and they had a very difficult time sleeping because of it!

So what does the title mean? Well, my grandfather used to say, “When the parade goes by, the dogs will bark, don’t be a barking dog!”  There’s another similar saying that goes along with this, “The one who says something cannot be done should not criticize the one doing it.”   The truth of it is, whenever you begin a new endeavor, there is always someone or maybe several someones who want to stand around and criticize and cast doubt and dispersion on you.  In other words, your parade is going by and instead of getting off the porch and getting involved, they just want to raise their heads and bark at the parade.  Many who are called to do great things are scared off or allow themselves to be belittled by others who say negative things to them or about them.

Sometimes, the criticism comes from those who love us, or at least they are acquaintances or associates. The reasons why they criticize are myriad.  Perhaps they themselves are too lazy or undisciplined to try something new.  Perhaps they have experienced personal failure or disappointment and they think they are doing you a service to warn you.  Or it could be they just want to put you down for no apparent reason at all.

Whatever the reasons, don’t let the naysayers stop you from doing what you are called to do.  When Tom Brown was a young man, his father thought he would never amount to anything just wandering around in the woods and practicing his survival skills! But, as many of you are aware, Tom Brown is now one of the foremost experts in the field of survival and tracking. His school, The Tracker School, located in New Jersey, is a highly sought after experience.  But in order to get to where he is today, he had to endure some pretty serious negativity from people who loved him but just didn’t understand his calling in life.  However, every child or adult who has been rescued by him over the decades is very thankful that he pushed on and overcame the obstacles that lay in his path.  His book, The Tracker, is a very interesting read and documents his journey from childhood to adulthood, chronicling his learning and adventures as he gained knowledge and wisdom from Grandfather, an old Apache tracker, who was his best friend’s actual grandfather. He was born around 1870 and was one of the last surviving Native Americans in the 1950’s who had been trained in the old ways.

Spiritually speaking, God wants you to have the inner fortitude to trust Him and push yourself into new areas of growth and ministry.  The Father of Modern Missions, William Carey, was born in Northamptonshire and became a shoe cobbler. When he felt called to go to India to do mission work, there were plenty who spoke against him. However, he persisted and often while working on shoes, he learned Hebrew, Italian, Dutch and French as he had already learned Latin and Greek as well as his native English!  Looking at his natural gift for languages, you would think that there would be great support for his endeavor! But as usual, because he was attempting a new thing, there was criticism instead.  Well, he went to India anyway and the rest of the story has been written.  We now know that he was a visionary pioneer who changed the face of the world for Christ in missionary evangelism.  Many souls are in Heaven because he braved the negative influencers and pushed on to do great things.  His famous motto was, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”  He did both and left a lasting mark for all eternity.

So, when you feel called to step into unknown territory to begin a new mission for your life, don’t let the barking dogs scare you off. And, when others begin to dream of doing something that seems out of the norm, do your best to support them. In other words, don’t be a barking dog!

Thanks for reading!

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James B