An Arrogant Dog

 

I can¡¯t distinguish whether or not dogs are really arrogant, or if I just see it that way from my own view. Dogs do not show any signs of regret or repentance for their weaknesses, mistakes, and wrongdoings. Likewise, mentally ill patients who do not know anything can give the impression of being really arrogant through similar behaviors.

 

Dogs do not care whether they have a chaff or dung that smells bad, and walk proudly as if nothing is wrong with them. They are really rather arrogant animals. Also, dogs these days do not drop their tails and become silent but bark noisily when they meet very fierce dogs or opponents. When the Creator first made them in the beginning, they were supposed to protect themselves by running away from bigger and stronger animals, according to the law of the wilderness, but now as time has changed they act up and bark regardless of whatever they encounter.

 

People also seem to be changing nowadays. In the past, there were distinctions between yangban (nobles), commoners and slaves, between masters and slaves and between the learned and the uneducated.  Also there were rules of ¡°Birds of a feather flock together¡±, today everything is so tangled I feel confused whether the society has really become equal or it¡¯s just a result of acting from people with an arrogant nature.  If you are a sinner, you should live humbly as a sinner without going around noisily whenever there¡¯s a chance. If you are ignorant, you should stay quiet instead of boldly speaking out with the little knowledge that you picked up off the Internet or from others. If you are poor, you need to live accordingly instead of trying to buy a Benz because your neighbor bought a Benz. It¡¯s like biting off more than one can chew. But even as I feel dismal about it, I look back on my own life and see no difference. The Good Book advised me not to talk, walk, or be together with the proud, but it¡¯s so hard because I myself have done things arrogantly so often¡¦

 

For those who argue, ¡°I¡¯m not arrogant,¡± I¡¯ll introduce the following statistics:

 

It is statistics based on who is qualified to enter heaven. 79% of people believe Mother Teresa can enter heaven, 65% Oprah Winfrey, 65% Michael Jordan, 28% ¡¦¡¦, and 19% OJ Simpson. But then when people evaluate themselves, 87% of them think that they are good enough to go to heaven. It shows the apex of arrogance, doesn¡¯t it? Who served others passionately and made a sacrifice more than Mother Teresa? Who shared their wealth with others and gave hope to many more than Winfrey? Being so generous to oneself may not be directly related to arrogance, but it is hard to deny that there¡¯s some connection.

 

There¡¯s a question for individuals asked by the reliable statistic expert Bana: when asked to score their social skills, there was no one who marked ¡®Below average.¡¯ Mathematically, the average would be 50% and it doesn¡¯t make sense. For example, 25% of the respondents answered that their social skills are quite excellent, enough to put them in the top 1%. If this statistic is true, there should be almost no problem, strife and even war in this world. But the truth is that it¡¯s been awhile since we had a period without war, and lawyers who solve legal quarrels are everywhere.

If I put it a little differently:

 

-If there is a good thing happening—because I did well or situation was good¡¦

-If I have a good result on test—because I am smart

-If I did poor job on test—because I was slightly distracted or because of a bad situation,                  

                                          or ambiguous questions

-If I get a ticket due to speeding—perhaps cops need to fill their quota

-If someone else gets a ticket—because they were not careful, etc.

 

In fact, even in the Church of Christ which should be the focus of peace, understanding and serving, I feel pride taking precedence these days. Church members talk among themselves that all the church problems result from the pastor¡¯s incompetence, and the pastor blames bad member, deacons, or elders.  Even common sense tells us that it is very rare that only one side caused the problem. When facing problems in carelessness because both sides did something wrong equally, our evil nature tends to blame the other party, namely, arrogance, rears its ugly head. This problem rises to the surface in the church, since both parties point out the speck in the other party¡¯s eyes ignoring its own log while using the Bible for their own gain. 

 

Reflecting ourselves who point fingers at others like ¡°the pot calls the kettle black,¡± I wish we could all start examining ourselves, abandoning our pride, regardless of whether we have chaff or dung on us. Even if the other person has dung on him, why can¡¯t we change our thought to, ¡°well, I should take off my chaff first,¡± and ¡°His dung can be washed off by water¡±? Truth is, whether it¡¯s chaff or dung, it can all be solved by shaking it off or washing it out.  

 

If the church is a gathering of people who are not only generous to themselves but also to others, the world will come begging for acceptance, breaking down the church door to join in. On the contrary, if it¡¯s a place full of pride and no forgiveness, finger-pointing and bickering, believers will run out to the world tearing off the door of the church even if it is tightly closed.

 

Considering that though, dogs look arrogant because they do not know anything, they are actually very humble since they wouldn¡¯t show off no matter how smart or rich they were. Perhaps, today¡¯s Christians have thing of two to learn from the dogs.