Max and Faye

What’s the difference between Max and Faye?

They’re both extremely intelligent and energetic and they both love to chase things.

Faye is a border collie, and her master is an accomplished trainer. Max is a mini-schnauzer, and his master is a well-meaning dog owner. Faye’s master is committed to training her, and spends hours working with her in the yard. Max’s master wishes Max would listen to him whenever he calls, and gets frustrated when Max acts like nothing else exists beyond the squirrel he has treed in the backyard.

Max is actually an exceptionally good dog. When everything is going well (read: no squirrels are in the backyard), Max is the ideal dog. He listens when his master calls, he doesn’t chew anything in the house, and he loves people. But if a squirrel enters his domain, forget about controlling him; his natural inclination is to chase anything that has four legs and a bushy tail. Because he hasn’t been trained well in this regard, he gives full vent to that inclination, even to his own harm, like the time when he was running so recklessly across the backyard in pursuit of a squirrel that he plowed into an oak tree, leaving him limping and whimpering for days.

Faye is also an exceptional dog. The difference between her and Max, though, is that Faye has been trained to listen to her master, even when things are not going well. Faye’s natural inclination is to chase and corral anything that moves. However, with years of unseen training, she’s learned to listen to her master and not chase things like cars, which would not be very good for her.

In thinking about Max and Faye, I’m reminded of our need to be trained well by our Master, so that we don’t hurl ourselves into destructive behavior like envy, gossip, or lust.

God’s training comes largely in the form of the spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are the simple acts of obedience we as Christians can do, which, when practiced consistently, open us to the transforming power of God’s grace. They are largely done in secret, away from the “main stage” of life. Jesus practiced the spiritual disciplines (prayer, Scripture memorization, fasting, solitude, etc.), and as a result, He had the power to live a grace-filled life, even when “the pressure was on.”

Wishful thinking won’t position us to live a Christlike life; it takes hard work and discipline, behind the scenes. Strength to overcome our most deeply ingrained habits and inclinations comes as we obey in the “little” matters of consistent time in prayer and reading the Bible, in practicing solitude and study. As a Christian practices these disciplines, the grace to obey in the bigger issues is provided as well.

As Solomon demonstrated in Proverbs, there’s much wisdom to be gained by observing the animal kingdom. A contemporary version of Solomon’s words might read, “Consider Faye and Max… how one obeys her master and one does not. A dog’s obedience is not forged in the moment, but comes as the fruit of long and diligent training.”