Articles
Leave Those Ears Alone...Please!
“I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.” ~Lyndon Baines Johnson
Those were the words spoken by the thirty-sixth president of the United States, on March 31, 1968. Fifty-two months and ten days had passed since LBJ had first become president on the heels of a national tragedy with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He’d rode the wave of Kennedy’s immense popularity into office but the war in Viet-Nam, unrest over the Civil Rights Movement, the cost of his “Great Society”, and other issues caused his own popularity (with the American people and within his own political party) to steadily dwindle and finally die. You can read Johnson’s speech in its entirety here:http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/680331.asp
LBJ also ran into trouble with a group of folks who considered him one of the most vile, despicable, inhumane presidents this country ever had. No, not because he’d ordered the bombing of North Viet Nam. It was something much more heinous than that. On more than one occasion, he took his beagles by their ears! As you might suspect, not everyone was as amused as were the people in this picture.
But taking note of taking dog’s ears didn’t first come about because of LBJ, nor did the idea that consequences may arise from doing the same.
While political fall-out wasn’t a consideration, Solomon knew of the other involved risks of canine ear grabbing and offered this similitude.“He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears.” (Proverbs 26:17)
I like dogs. Usually, that is. Now and again, they cause me more than a bit of uneasiness. Sally was a rottweiler of uneven temperament whose teeth looked (to me) to be more like white railroad spikes. She was also a “house dog” who had a rather unsettling habit of crashing full force into the front door of the house when I knocked on it, all the while barking, carrying on and daring me to come on in. Once inside the house, I did my very best to make no sudden moves in her presence. Then there was Duchess, a fully grown German shepherd with whom my relationship was, at its best, tenuous. Apparently, Duchess never heard her owner tell me she didn't bite because she (Duchess, not her owner) did in fact bite me...twice! Whenever I was around Sally or Duchess, I can promise you the very last thing on my mind was to take either of those flea-bearing critters by their ears. To do that would've been to guarantee pain, misery, yelping, and likely more than a little bit of blood-letting...and not for either one of them.
Taking a dog by its ears has one mammoth-proportioned built in complexity. You can’t hang on and you can’t let go without some damage being done. So then, exactly what sort of danger-seeker is it who “takes a dog by the ears”?
Solomon made the answer to that question quite an easy one. It’s the same sort who meddles in affairs not his or her own.
And that seems to be a lesson that some brethren have either been unable or unwilling to learn.
If you check church web-sites, mailing lists owned by brethren, or magazines and bulletins published by brethren, you’ll be sure to find a (non-certified, to be sure) watchdog or two who’s unhappy with someone else’s lectureship, vacation bible school, bulletin, or even the sign in the church yard. Autonomy is, for the moment, tossed aside and criticism is offered on anything and everything measured by the critic as being not “sound”. I learned a long, long time ago that being “sound” can mean nothing more than being in agreement with one who would otherwise be your detractor.
On a congregational level, it’s a predicament we need to recognize and avoid. I can recall a (completely miserable) business meeting from maybe fifteen ago when the hot topic of the night was whether a man was qualified to serve as an elder. Now, ordinarily that would be fine and dandy but on that particular night the man being discussed was an elder of another congregation. Lots and lots of dog’s ears were taken that night.
And as individuals, we can be prone to thrust ourselves into situations with the best of intentions and crawdad out with less than helpful results. A really good rule to live by is that you never, ever, under any circumstances, stick your nose in where (a) it’s not needed, (b) it’s not wanted, (c) it’s not wise, (d) it’s not helpful, (e) it’s not your business, or (f) any and all combinations thereof.
I’ll grant you, the line between helping and meddling is sometimes very fine, often blurred and unintentionally crossed on occasion. There is (who would have thought it?) an elementary solution to that dilemma. Ask before you “help”, and all the while remember “no” never means “yes”. Otherwise, you may very well find you’ve taken, for your very own, a (great ole big) dog by its ears. Unwelcome tinkering with someone else’s arguments, problems, or business is just not a smart thing to do. In fact, it’s every bit as risky as taking a dog by the ears.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands” (I Thessalonians 4:11 NASB)
“He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears.” (Proverbs 26:17)
~Teddy Horton
