Taught By a Cat

When our dear friend Dorothy moved, she decided to leave her beloved cat, Kato behind.  Our family decided that we would keep Kato if he would have us.  Kato did not transition well.  We kept him in the house for a while and he cried and cried until one day we decided to let him out.  Kato did not come back that day.  Nor did he come back the following day.  We thought that he was gone forever, but he finally came back and owned us thereafter.

There was one quality that really stood out about Kato—he really wanted his “pats.”  It didn’t matter what was happening, he required that we pat him.  There were times that he would be out all night and when he came in, he was very hungry.  Instead of rushing to his dish, he would always “demand” his pats.  We knew that he was hungry because of the way he sounded as he gobbled down his food—after he received his attention.

Kato taught me something by his behavior.  I seek God only after I have my coffee or check my email.  (Actually, after some reflection, there are other things, but these were the two that immediately came to mind.)  It amazed (and convicted) me that his priorities were better than mine.

I was also reminded of a conversation between God and Moses in Exodus 33.  God told Moses that He would give the Israelites the land He promised their forefathers.  However, God also told Moses that He would not journey with them because the Israelites were very stubborn people.  Later Moses continued the conversation and said to God, “If You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You…If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Exodus 33:13, 15).

In this brief encounter, Moses showed me what seeking God, knowing God, loving God, and pleasing God is all about.  Moses also taught me something about priorities, which is seeking God’s blessings and seeking God is not the same thing.

Someone else also saw it this way.  After He told us how to prioritize life, He summed it all up by saying, “Seek first [God]…and all these things shall be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).  Good advice, huh?

God Speak

Recently, I emailed this message to my daughter: “I had an intimate moment with a tall blonde,” but then I added, “and your mother was sitting next to me.”  When Sarah got the email, she laughed because she worked for Starbucks.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the language of Starbucks, a “tall blonde” is a small, medium roast coffee.

Starbucks has one of the numerous “languages” that we speak in our country.  I’ve learned from my foster daughter that in Ebonics, a crib is not a baby’s bed and a grill is not something you cook on.  I’ve also been told that texting is another language and the Pidgin English that was despised by my English teachers, while I was growing up, is now an official language—Hawaiian Creole.

Sometimes humans use language to communicate within a closed community; however, I think that the purpose of language is to share ourselves with others.  We want to know one another because we desire to have a relationship with each other.  With this in mind, the purpose of the church is to make God known (Ephesians 3:10-11) in a language that the world will understand (II Corinthians 5:20) so God can reconcile all people to Himself (II Corinthians 5:18-19).

James tells us one way that we can accomplish this task.  He says, “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19, 20).  Eugene Peterson interprets these verses as, “Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle in the rear.  God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger.”  All too often we are easily offended and angered by the language of the world.  What I hear James saying in this context is, “Chill out.  If you want to be in good standing with God, seek to understand others.”

I often see myself in others when I submit to James’ admonition.  In doing so, I am also reminded that my actions do not always reflect the way I feel or think.  Besides that, I don’t often understand my inconsistencies (Romans 7:15), but I try not to let my thoughts take up residence there.   Instead, I try to rest in the promises of God.  I also know that God sees the inconsistencies in me (Proverbs 16:2), but I am also assured that the Holy Spirit speaks to the Father for me in a language They understand, to accomplish Their purpose in me (Romans 8:26-27).  I not only find refuge in these words, but a doorway to compassion is opened for me.

When we try to understand where a person is coming from, we will probably learn to communicate God’s message more fully.  In the process we may even get to know ourselves, and yes, God even better.